Megaman Legends 3
by Typhon Purifier 89
Summary: A Megaman fan-fic of truly epic proportions. I plan on creating a truly cohesive Legends story that spans back all the way to Classic. If you love Megaman Legends, you need to read this story. Review so I know where I'm headed! Legends Never Die!
1. Prologue: Since You've Been Gone

PROLOGUE

"SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE"

(OOC: OR "TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING, SCREW YOU CAPCOM" WHICHEVER YOU PREFER)

_"Megaman! Megaman, I'm losing you... the transmission's breaking!"_

_Roll's fist pounded against the monitor, rattling the microphone equipment and sending a shooting pain up her right arm, which she ignored. _

_Fear gripped her heart again as she attempted to dial up the frequency range for what felt like the thousandth time since this stupid dig began._

"_I knew that this was a bad idea… He's so close… If he gets hurt again because I couldn't help him, I'll never forgive myself!"_

_Roll stared at the red dot that had been the last known transmission of Megaman's position, then looked at the massive energy fluctuation she knew to be a Reaverbot on the other side of the door. Her stomach squirmed yet again, thinking about the danger that Megaman subjected himself to every time he went on a dig… _

_For Gramps, and for herself…_

"_I wish it was me, I wish I could be with him… I want to be with you again Megaman…"_

"**WAKE UP!"**

Roll sat up with a start, sending debris and diagrams of jet propulsion and thrust flying onto the floor from off of the desk. This was the scene from where she had, once again, sat at all night working at what she was soon coming to think was an insurmountable task. At present, she found herself face to face with a burning, red faced Tron Bonne, who by no means a welcoming sight, given her demeanor.

"Well look who decided to SLEEP IN today! Having a good nap AGAIN? I'm not sure about you, but it seems to me that when one part of the team slacks off around here, it doesn't help out the WHOLE, now does it?" Tron ranted.

Roll sighed. While she knew Tron was abrasive at the best of times, she also knew that she had a habit of taking out her frustrations on the blond spotter whenever she was having difficulties herself. This knowledge, however, did little to curb the anger that came bubbling up to the surface, coming to Roll's defense once again.

"Tron, you know darn well I've been in here determining thrust capacity for orbital trajectory! It's not like I've been on vacation while you build the control module! I'm working hard too!"

Tron snorted "Well you'd think you would have gotten the physics of trajectory down, given that you've invented enough weapons USING them to blow up in MY face! Don't think I've forgotten who made all those nasty little weapons for Megaman…."

A slight pause came between the two of them, a moment of awkwardness that wasn't missed by either young woman…

When it came to the subject of Megaman, they had become quite silent with each other. Perhaps it was the growing understanding between the two of their need for the other to rescue him, or perhaps it had started to become obvious to both of them that they were two figures looking into a mirror and seeing their own souls reflected in the other.

Tron contemplated this idea for a moment, but immediately thrust it from her mind. She didn't want to feel like she shared a soul with the blonde spotter. Coming into Roll's room wasn't something that she wanted to do in the first place… but coming in and hearing her mumbling in her sleep about wanting to be with _HIM! _

It was infuriating, and any thoughts of camaraderie with Roll were immediately forgotten. It was bad enough that Tron was finally coming to understand that she loved Megaman, but she hated the thought of having to deal with Roll sticking her nose in where it didn't belong. Who did she think she was?

If Roll wanted to be there sobbing when Tron finally told Megaman how she felt, then FINE, she could just deal with that all on her own. But for now, she needed the blonde, whether she liked to admit it or not…

"Look, just come downstairs, Old Codger is looking for you…"

Roll gave her a furious look, but didn't say anything. The "Old Codger", or Barrel Caskett, was Roll's Grandfather, and this new nickname that Tron had developed for him was pressing on a nerve. Roll knew that her Grandfather was getting on in years, but since all the trouble in Kattlelox, and most recently with finding the Keys to the Mother Lode, Gramps had taken a definite turn for the worse.

Roll brushed past Tron and walked through the doorway, heading for the bathroom. Tron watched her walk away, surly that she hadn't been engaged in another screaming match with the other resident mechanical genius. Tron had been itching for a fight ever since she had come to realize that it was Roll who had suggested their new command module design, instead of that blasted Monkey.

Tron clenched her teeth. The monkey, Data, had become so unbelievably annoying these past few days for God knows what reason. His furious little dance had finally gotten the attention of the two women, and each had relented slightly to his outright demands to be let into the planning process…

Tron stalked down the hallway of the new Gesellschaft II, ignoring the random greetings from her personal servant army, the Servbots. She didn't like being one-upped in any aspect of her life, let alone in mechanical engineering. Granted, while her designs had saved them more than enough money while still being technologically sound, she didn't like thinking that there was another person Bon Bonne, her large, mechanically enhanced baby brother, could turn to for maintenance work. She paused next to the armory, catching a glance at herself in the reflection of the metal door. In the three years since meeting Megaman and Roll on Kattlelox Island, Tron Bonne, at 17, was starting to grow up into quite a beautiful young lady. She thought, for a second, of the picture of her mother and father that hung up in Teisel's study that they had managed to salvage from the destruction of their first warship. She smirked a little, glad that the good looks hadn't passed her as they had passed the rest of her family. Granted, Teisel wasn't terrible looking, but ever since Reaver-Eye augmentation had come into vogue some twenty odd years ago, he had a decidedly creepy edge to his face. The Old Codger had them too, perhaps he had used them in his digging days so as not to miss anything special in a certain ruin. Her brother, of course, used his for pirating, so she couldn't complain. Looking back into the mirror, she looked down at the outfit she was wearing. She had chosen a simple outfit today, a simple purple tank top and a tight pair of jeans, to prevent snagging on any loose equipment while she worked in the tight confines of the newest rocket she and Roll and begun to build.

Her mind having cycled back once again to the Spotter, she turned away from the metal door in a huff, not wanting to think about all the ways Roll had changed as well. She always preferred to think of her as the "Troll in the Red Hat", and she was planning on keeping it that way, thank you very much. She turned towards the hallway leading to the exit. She figured she might as well start the day, and perhaps steal a bite to eat from Teisel outside at what he liked to call "Teisel's Rocket Ship Buffet!"

The other girl in question slipped into the bathroom just past her room in the hallway. She clicked the lock behind her, and pressed her back against the door and let out a sigh. She had started to miss Megaman more and more these days, perhaps stemming from the fact that she kept having the same dream about him over and over again. She assumed that the reason she kept dreaming about that lonely pillar out in the middle of the ocean was because she knew that that was where this had all began. Lately she had started stealing glances at her own diary, at the page marked "Secret" and fervently wished that she would just be able to tell Megaman how she felt about him. She thought it was high time to stop being so shy, and just let him know how much she wanted to be with him. It was driving her mad, and keeping her up until all hours of the morning trying to figure out a way to bring him back down wasn't helping her state of mind, but she wouldn't stop until she had him in her arms again…

Roll looked up and caught her own reflection in the mirror as well, seeing another 17 year old girl staring back out at her, very much like the other. This one, however, with her blonde hair and startlingly green eyes, was just as beautiful as the female pirate, and had developed quite extensively herself. Though she never thought about it, she was incredibly beautiful, and she and Tron had, for good reason, a large number of admirers out in the world at large. Roll walked over to the small sink and turned the faucet on, attempting to once again clean the dried-on grease smudges that seemed to endlessly plague her and her colleague's faces. It didn't seem to bother all the male well-wishers that had arrived, however... And at this thought Roll closed her eyes and attempted to push the many nameless faces out of her mind.

Recently Roll and Tron and began sparking attention in the world at large, as was warrant, seeing as how they were launching and blowing up rockets on an almost weekly basis. It wasn't long before the nearest islands began catching wind of attempts at rocket travel, and began sending out news airships to find out the latest scoop.

Roll splashed water onto her face and tried to keep what happened next out of her mind… but to no avail.

When the news crews came to the site, finding Von Bleucher, Barrel Caskett's partner in crime, and Barrel Caskett himself, off on another grand adventure, the crews ate it up. But when questioned about the reason, when it came to light that the "Blue Bomber", as they had started to call Megaman in the news since his recent successes in finding the Keys to the Mother Lode, had been trapped on the second moon in the Mother Lode's actual retrieval, and Teisel's unfortunate entry into the camera crews taping…

Roll frowned.

It had become a living nightmare from that point on. The news spread like wildfire, and now their small corner of the world has become the focus of worldwide attention. The small island of Calbania, where they had established their home base, has now become the center of one the most thriving centers of news reporters, bazaars, and seaports that the world had ever seen. Even nature seemed to be working against the two families in their quest to save Megaman. The ocean tide, in a truly enigmatic fashion, had begun to recede greatly over the past few weeks, with no apparent reason. The beaches that had once made the island a relatively small landmass in the ocean had begun to expand, so much so, in fact, that the island had almost doubled in size since arriving there months earlier to send Megaman off into space. Of course, with the increase in size, that just allowed more spectators and onlookers, and has created a haven for all sorts, including mechanics and engineers and, most unfortunately, thousands of young men eager to get a glimpse of the two beautiful geniuses working on the unbelievable new flying rockets. However, money started to get pretty low, and they realized that if they didn't come up with a plan soon, they might never get Megaman down… In fact, Roll remembered with a start, when Tron had suggested piracy, she had almost given in… It was pretty scary at that point.

Roll toweled off her face and pulled the door open again, not quite ready to face what she knew was waiting for her outside.

After the news had gotten wind of the purpose of the rockets, they had discovered that the notorious Bonne pirating family, along with their genius inventing daughter Tron, was aiding the already famous and legendary Roll Caskett and her grandfather Barrel in creating the rocket, and it was understood that two 17 year old girls were fast becoming the cutting edge of technology in the modern world, it wasn't long for the endless line of suitors who claimed to be the next "Mr. Caskett", or the next "Bonne Pirate King" to appear. Of course, it also brought the attention of the police, who in no way had forgotten the past transgressions of the Bonne family. However, Teisel Bonne, the crafty older brother of Tron Bonne, had developed an ingenious way of both keeping the "Feds" from arresting them, as well as financing the whole operation. He told the police that if he were allowed to walk away scot free, with the rest of his family, he would not only pay back all the damages he had caused, plus the money spent trying to catch them, but also interest, and the police had allowed him one final chance to redeem his name. After all, he had helped to save the Sulphur Bottom's crew after the disastrous attack upon the vessel a few months previously by an unknown assailant. Thus, with Von Bleucher's strong political ties, Teisel had one chance to make back all the money that he had destroyed.

Roll put her face into the palm of her hand, remembering the horrible, albeit clever, scheme that ended up saving **everything**.

"_Ladies and Gentleman out there in TV land! This is Teisel BONNE, legendary pirate extraordinare, coming to you LIVE from Calbania Islandddd! AS PUNISHMENT for my WICKED deeds, I've decided to become a simple businessman, and pay back to YOU, yes YOU, all the LITTLE PEOPLE, all the money we have __so wrongly taken__! Yes, FINALLY we Bonnes have decided to walk the __straight and narrow__, BELIEVE IT or NOT! Our wicked ways are behind us and to show our good faith, we want you viewers in TV land to fly out here and help keep this dream ALIVE! We are bringing down the MOTHER LODE and we want you right there with us! Bring the family, bring the KIDS, bring those little doggies too, just make sure you keep them away from TRON! YES, we here at the Allied BONNE/CASKETT Space Program want YOU to bring your talents, and your money…"_

…_Tron hurriedly kicks him in the shin_

"_Ow… right… Bring your BUSINESS, down here for international exposure. I declare myself MAYOR TEISEL, in the city where dreams BLAST OFF!"_

_Cuts to Rocket # 8 blasting off behind, catching the gleam of the sun in the camera lens_

"_LET'S DO IT!"_

Roll frowned even harder as she approached the escape hatch leading to another long day out in the hot sun.

Teisel's marketing scheme, although crass, was impossibly successful. So much so that in two short weeks, the island had become one of the most populated in the region, with an incredible assortment of junk stores, bakeries, and even comic book shops, many of whom depicting Roll, Tron, and Megaman in literary form, sprouting up overnight! Teisel was able to pay for everything that he had owed, brought himself out of his own personal debt, and was single handedly able to finance the entire operation on simply running the new island town. Although admittedly amazing, Roll was not pleased with the situation. She wasn't used to being in the spotlight, or had so much attention directed at her. She was daily pestered on her relationship status with Megaman, her plans with her new wealth that had accumulated from the press and TV exposure, as well as the royalties for all the patents Teisel had drawn up from her and Tron's work. He had single handedly quadrupled the firepower of the police and military by selling them basic scraps of work like the machine gun arm and powered buster. Roll was slightly fearful, though, that if Megaman ever DID come back down that he would be really upset that Teisel had sold all of his equipment, YET AGAIN. Roll was at least glad that Megaman had taken the Shining Laser weapon with him, for the simple reason that it still scared her with its power as it had all those years ago when she first conceived it on Kattlelox Island. She was certain that the world was not ready for something of that devastating power to be out in the open. With the other weapons, although unable to truly grasp the full technological prowess in the designs, the police had paid handsomely for them, and Roll and Tron had become overnight successes. In fact, Roll and Tron were constantly bombarded by mechanics, saying they could help them achieve space flight, that they alone knew the true secret, and in the end Roll and Tron were unable to even take off their mechanical work gear in the hot sun for fear of being oogled at by young mechanical fan boys eager to see the two engineers strip.

"It's ridiculous" Roll blushed as she thought of the recent cat-calls she and Tron and received after Servbot 36 had accidentally knocked over a tub of lubrication oil being used to grease one of the rocket hatches on top of the two girls, dousing them in the oil and blowing the minds of some odd 30 men watching.

Roll smirked… Tron, of course, being the diplomat that she is, reasoned with them in a calm and composed manner…

"_WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT? WE AREN'T CIRCUS CLOWNS OR SOMETHING! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I SHOW YOU WHAT PAIN REALLY IS!"_

_Afterward, Roll thought Tron seemed a little down, like she was thinking about something that had happened before… But the work continued on…_

Roll shook her head to stop all of her reminiscing. It had been a tough couple of weeks, but she was pretty sure they may truly have the rocket this time, and she was itching to try it out, to try, once again, to save Megaman!

**So for those of you who don't know me, I'm Typhon, and I've been a Megaman Legends fan for years now. I decided that I wanted to write a story a long time ago, having been a part of a few online collaboration projects and RP Stories on Megaman Legends Universe. I guess it took so long because I didn't really have the heart to write it all out, but I decided recently to do so after the announcement of Megaman Legends 3. Of course, when I started writing this, the game had not yet been cancelled and I have been posting in this story now for a while. I'm going through it again and editing it, but I also wanted to give a bit of a forward for the benefit of new readers. I know the prologue was a bit fan-service, but just ignore it, I just wanted to make it known to people who have never played the games that the contention between Tron and Roll was a big part, and that now that they are older it would be even more of an issue.**

**But enough about that. Presently, I'm writing this story as a form of protest against the cancellation of a game that I have been waiting ten years for. I've always had my own thoughts about how the series would have progressed, and strangely enough it is nothing close to this story… This seems to have a mind of its own, and I want to take it as far as I can go.**

**If you feel like Megaman Legends 3 was killed before it even had a chance to shine, then read this story. I promised many people that I would get Megaman to come down one way or another, and if this is the only way to do that, that so be it.**

**LONG LIVE LEGENDS**


	2. Chapter 1: Elysium's Legacy

CHAPTER 1

"ELYSIUM'S LEGACY"

High above the bustling little island, within the reaches of space, the "Second Moon" as it was known on Terra, slowly came into view in the sky, taking its usual orbit far over the Earth's surface. On this artificial planet, known to a chosen few as "Elysium", a young man in blue digger's armor sat hunched in the corner of a large house sitting in an open field. The Master's House, as it was called, had long been abandoned and had been as silent as a tomb for years, until the return of Megaman Volnutt. However, as he sat, waiting and hoping for rescue, having come to this "planet" to save the world from certain doom, Megaman had become increasingly aware of a change in the place that he was temporarily calling home. The artificial sun, shining through the open windows, had begun to grow dark, and the nights had started to become longer and longer… Megaman had originally been hopeful, but upon seeing the skies growing darker, his mood had begun to slowly ebb as well.

Fears and doubts plagued him daily…

"Will Roll ever be able to find me?"

"Will I ever see Terra again?"

"…. What's going to happen to me, and _who am I_?"

Megaman hunched and clutched his legs a little closer to his body. Recently, he had grown accustomed to wearing his armor on a daily basis, as it was beginning to get rather chilly during the night, and the Master's House isn't what you would call "hospitable", given that its previous owner had died several hundred years in the past.

Megaman started violently upon hearing the door hiss open to his right, and he squinted in the dark to make out the shape that had entered the room.

"Oh…. Apologies Trigger… I…"

"My name is Megaman, Sera, you know that…" Megaman said in a genial tone, relaxing from the silhouette in the doorway.

Sera ignored this comment, but eyed him quizzically, "You were not asleep? It was my understanding that carbons require sleep regularly to maintain function?"

"I just can't seem to fall asleep recently…" Megaman confessed. "I'm worried… and I feel like the walls are kind of closing in… like I can't breathe…"

"That seems to contradict your functional programming…" Sera mused

"…Meaning?"

"It doesn't seem like you to be afraid." Sera stated simply

Megaman laughed, "No, that isn't what I meant. I just feel weaker… maybe it's just this place, or maybe I'm just missing Roll and Tron and everyone else, but I just feel like I need some air, you know?

Sera stood motionless for a few moments, as if contemplating her response.

"Perhaps you should come with me for a minute." Sera held out her hand to Megaman, who took it gently with his armor clad hand and followed her out onto the field.

Outside of the Master's House, it was very quiet, a peaceful serene picture in the evening light coming from some unknown source.

"At least unknown to me…" Megaman thought inwardly.

Ever since coming to this place, Megaman was constantly bombarded with feelings of nostalgia, but also of confusion. It was as if his mind was telling him that this place, this piece of the puzzle, wasn't all that it seemed.

Sera strode next to him serenely, still holding on to Megaman's hand lightly. It seemed to be an odd behavior coming from someone who had until recently harbored some rather unfriendly feelings towards him, even towards people in general.

Megaman smiled a little at the thought. It was interesting to see how much had changed since first arriving here at Elysium to battle Sera over the fate of the whole world. It never really had occurred to Megaman the gravity of that situation, as it seemed to affect him on such a personal level as well, but it was all water under the bridge now. Over the past month or so since his arrival, and after the final climactic battle with Mistress Sera, as she once called herself, life had become somewhat... anti-climactic. Most days he found himself discussing the past with Sera and Yuna about a variety of things, but mostly about what life had been like on Elysium, and what his role had been in everything.

"_Your previous life here, Megaman, was as a sort of Aberrant Unit Hunter." Yuna attempted to explain to him one day._

"_I think I understand the purpose of that, but what exactly are aberrant units? Just people who disagreed with the System?"_

_Sera interjected, "Not originally. You see, sometimes old units in the past needed to be decommissioned, many times struggling with us when they were due to be replaced or recycled… Most followed the System's parameters, but occasionally one or two decided that they would rather function than be, shall we say 'remade'."_

_Yuna nodded at the description, then continued. "It wasn't long, however, till many of us began to discover that there was more than just discontent at work. Many units began to fight against the System in much more negative ways, and thus the Purifier Units were born… And that's where you came in."_

"_So I was created to combat the real troublemakers?_

_Sera shook her head, "No, you already existed before then. You had been around for a long time before there was ever a need to create a "purifier unit". Records of the actual length of life most Units had wasn't a very important concept, as most backed themselves up and rebooted their shells quite regularly. I think you misinterpreted. The "Purifier Unit" was actually a group, not a single entity created. The "Classes" that you were assigned to were based on your performance in combating the issues Elysium was facing. As a first class, you were the best of the best, until, of course, WE were created." gesturing to herself and Yuna. "In the end, the Mother Units were in charge of everything, including the defense of the system… Which is really what started all this trouble in the first place…"_

_Yuna looked down at the water below them, as they were sitting on the edge of one of Elysium's residential area islands._

"_We were designed to run all necessary functions of Elysium, as well as Terra, and combat any issues that came our way…"_

_Megaman smiled, "Necessary functions? Like even the wind?" He joked casually_

_Yuna frowned… "For a start…"_

Megaman came back from the memory, looking at the grass where they had been sitting when they discussed this previous life.

"You know, it's funny, I could have sworn that there _was_ a wind out here the first time I came to this island, it rippled the grass, but I haven't felt anything since returning from…" Megaman trailed off, not wanting to reopen any sore wounds that may still be healing.

Sera turned to him and smiled a genuine warm smile. Upon her return with Megaman and Yuna from the demi-plane that she had teleported them to for their final battle, Sera had been able to reconstitute her original shell and reset it, bringing back her own body, allowing for a few modifications, creating a more mature, aged frame, but still the same short green hair and glowing ruby eyes. Megaman had always thought Sera and Yuna, who had also returned to her original shell after being vacated by Sera, had always been beautiful in a sort of alien way. Now, with both having aged their shells here on Elysium, they appeared to both be 17, the same as Megaman himself.

"Don't worry Trigger, I hold no ill regard for you. In fact, these past few weeks I have grown quite accustom to your presence. I find it soothing." Sera stated baldly.

Megaman faltered a bit at the amazing candor Sera always seemed to exhibit. It was unnerving sometimes to hear the truth from someone in such ways.

"…uhh…um… thank you, Sera…" Megaman stammered

Sera looked over to him, "It seems to be part of my new programming… or developing personality, whatever the case may be. I may be developing genuine feelings towards you due to our increased correspondence."

Megaman blushed… did she mean… romantic feelings?

"However, it is illogical for such feelings, thus, at present, they are meaningless."

Megaman pondered this statement for a while… but then decided that he didn't want to know or talk about this subject anymore, so he decided to change it.

"Where has Yuna gone this time? Decided to go feed the Reaverbots again? What did she call that dog one… Cerberus?" Megaman shivered. He never really quite understood Yuna and her willingness to call Reaverbots "pets"

Sera looked over at him, her ruby eyes passing over the landscape.

"No. She is in the Central Control. In fact, we are going to go see her now."

Sera began walking towards the elevator leading down to the Side Area. Without pausing to wait for Megaman, she called over her shoulder;

"We want to speak with you. Please hurry."

Megaman was slightly taken aback by this abrupt change in Sera's demeanor and actions. He watched her walk away in her new older form for a few seconds, then ran after her, confused at what was transpiring.

"Whoa, hey, hold on a second. What's going on? Is something wrong?"

Sera pushed the activation switch for the elevator, and Megaman heard the machine slowly grind to life, and lower them into the ground.

"It will probably be best to discuss this at the Central Control."

Megaman let it go, knowing that Sera was, in many respects, weirder than her "sister" at times, and he knew that it wasn't something to be worried about. "After all," he reasoned, "we're sitting on a dead planet, I'm not planning on being attacked anytime soon…"

Sera and Megaman walked through the pristine, sterile hallways of Elysium, finding it harder than usual to see down to the end of each passageway.

"Why does everything seem so much darker than it used to?" Megaman murmured, more to himself than anything, and wasn't really expecting an answer. Sera, however, slowed her brisk pace and glanced over at the blue digger.

"Do you wish me to guide you? My programming wishes me to help you in some way."

Megaman strode forward purposefully, not quite trusting this new "programming" Sera kept bringing up. She was being so… friendly. It was in many ways more alien to him than their combat had been.

"…No thanks, I just mean the lights seem to be turned down, but I'm sure you two with your awesome Mother gifts don't need things like light to be able to avoid walls and such." Megaman replied slightly sardonically. Megaman was surprised, however, at the answering look Sera gave him. Was it… pity?

"I'm sorry for any discomfort you may have, or will, experience, Trigger. We are almost there now…" Sera once again set off down the hallway

"Or _will_ experience? How decidedly cryptic…" Megaman thought to himself. He was beginning to dislike this little excursion with each passing second.

"We've arrived." Sera stated, somewhat uselessly, as Megaman was clearly able to see for himself the massive doors leading to what he assumed to be the central hub of Elysium. While massive and intimidating, the truly awe-inspiring thing about these "Gates of Elysium" were the markings etched into the door, above a massive insignia of Elysium.

"Sera, what does that say, on the door?"

Sera pressed her hand against the massive door, which responded by shining brightly upon both of them, and releasing a large series of locks around the edges.

"'The Creation for a World of Everlasting Peace'."

The door groaned and moved inward, shaking the walls and rumbling the floor on which they both stood, until a massive entrance opened before them, into an immense room. Sera strode in purposefully, ignoring the look on Megaman's face.

"Everlasting peace…" A shiver ran down Megaman's back, as that phrase echoed somewhere very deep within his mind.

"Finally! I was wondering what was keeping you Sera! I was worried you had gotten lost there for a minute!" Yuna sprang out to meet them, wearing her usual dress and pigtails that Megaman was accustomed to seeing on her.

"Hello, Yuna, I'm glad to see you! Sera's been acting all funny, I need some normalcy in my life again!" Megaman laughed. He was, however, slightly perturbed to see the knowing look pass between Sera and Yuna, and Yuna's unwillingness to laugh with Megaman. Megaman stopped and looked at the two of them, then finally said what he was thinking, wagging a reproachful finger at the two of them.

"Alright, that's enough, now you two are gonna start talking right now! What is going on?"

Yuna and Sera stared back, as if weighing their next words carefully. It was Yuna who broke the silence.

"Well, Megaman, we weren't trying to be mysterious or anything, we were just thinking about… Where to begin…?"

"Begin? What are you talking about?" Megaman said.

"We have wanted to tell you some things for a while now, Megaman, and we think that the time has now come, sorry to be so confusing… But please… Let me explain…"

Yuna paused, "Do you know what this room is?"

"…Not really… Isn't it some sort of control station for Elysium, the central control room?"

"Yes and no. This room is the nexus for everything that happens in Elysium, yes, that much is true, but it's much more than that… I suppose that's a good place to begin. This station, this world, was created by us as a measure to control the Elder System, and to prosper in a world of peace, removed from the rest of the world, Terra, where the last humans would be able to live and survive and, eventually, repopulate. You see, in the beginning of what you call the "Time of the Ancients" The world was a much different place than it is today. It was a war torn world, and Terra was on the brink of destruction. At least, that's what we know today…"

Megaman looked puzzled, looking up at the gigantic towers of electronics equipment surrounding him, and the technological beauty that he know only Roll, and maybe Tron, could appreciate and would no doubt salivate over given the opportunity.

"You mean… You don't know?"

"It was done purposefully. You see, the humans had begun to seriously distrust the Elder System, whatever it was, and had attempted, apparently more than once, to create a world in which they would be able to escape from the transgressions of their forebears and begin life anew… As far as we know, the Elders, those that came before, were like us in many ways. They made their own choices and coexisted with the human race. Alas, we aren't really too sure about the specifics. What we do know was what occurred in the world of Elysium, and its effect on Terra…"

Yuna paused again, looking around at the large room, apparently looking for anything else to look at than Megaman's eyes.

"In an unknown year in the past, mankind had decided that to progress, it may need to escape the confines of its current existence, and so, an idea of life in space began to form and develop in the minds of ancient humans. In an attempt to do just that, a preceding space colony, in many ways similar to Elysium, was created for mainly the same purpose. However, and this is where the story begins, for unknown reasons, the colony was later attacked by some agents of the Elder system, and was sent on a collision course with Terra…"

"Wait, slow down… this is a lot to take in… why would they do that, were they planning on killing everyone? How did everyone survive?"

"Megaman, I'm telling you what we've been able to discover, but to be honest, we know about as much as you do… Of course, that may change soon enough, but please, let me tell you at least what we know…"

"I'm sorry Yuna…"

"Oh, don't worry about it…"

"This space colony was directed to hit the ground, and kill everyone on the planet. The reasons behind this seem to be lost to history. Apparently the Elder System had been dealing with a low level of rebellion for a number of years, and both humans and… our precursors… were caught in the crossfire. What isn't lost, however, is the aftermath of this attack. Apparently, working quickly, the humans and Elders were able to create a massive cannon, something that was called a "laser-cannon", and was able to destroy the colony before having it crush into Terra and destroy everything. Now, according to what we know, this wasn't enough, as the colony, although shattered, was still going to hit… and apparently it did, killing many and severely crippling the planet… Many things were completely destroyed, and Terra had become, in many respects, a barren wasteland."

Yuna paused.

"After this incident, there was apparently chaos, a catastrophe of this sort obviously had huge ramifications for both beings, and records refer to some sort of "Nightmare" which, we assume, just meant the aftermath of the collision, while we aren't entirely certain. But it was the humans who decided on the next move, and where the story of Elysium begins. To escape these troubles, mankind had begun the next generation of research and development by constructing an orbital elevator able to take equipment and handiwork to the moon where they would seek to expand their horizons to space. Our oldest files described this operation and had labeled it as "Jakob Project". Apparently, trouble followed up into space as well, but mankind was again spared a devastating blow by the hands of these… I guess I'll call them aberrants, as we aren't really sure what they were… and were able to continue their work. One of the main focuses of this movement into space was to create a new form of machine, capable of aiding the humans and saving them from the destruction of their predecessors. An advanced generation of Elders was created, based on the previous work of a few Elders, and these new generation androids were able to use DNA data to change their shapes, thus evolving into a new sentient race, subservient to the humans..."

"You!" Megaman interjected, despite himself.

Yuna smiled. "In a sense, although we came much later, it was the first design of what we were to become. To the humans, it was a breakthrough. They were the perfect workers because they can change their shape according to a task, and have subroutines built in to prevent them from killing humans or others, but instead would aid in the construction of a new world with which mankind could be saved."

"Like when Geetz and Gatz transformed into those dragons! I couldn't believe it!" Megaman was excited, although he knew next to nothing about what really happened in the past, he at least was beginning to understand what Elysium may have been like.

"Yes, but that isn't the whole story. Please…"

Yuna continued

"With the world in chaos, and the ability to orbitally gravitate the necessary materials from Terra, mankind began creating a world with which they would be able to survive, away from the wars tearing the planet apart beneath them. Thus, the humans decided that this new generation of servants would be tailored so that this tragedy would never happen again, and thus, they decided to erase the past from our predecessors memories and delete the records of what had happened to the world. This was, of course, to their benefit, and our detriment, as those without experience gain no wisdom, but that was beside the point, as the humans had begun the process of making sure that the opportunity for bloodshed was to end shortly."

"Remember that, at the time, the Elder system was in full force down on Terra, and currently, Terra was in a state of total disrepair, after the collision of the first colony. Well… mankind decided to create a system onboard the new station that would be able to affect the planet and hopefully erase the damage that had been done. Working together with the new Units, as we will call them now, they created a powerful new object that would be able bind and release energy in an incredibly strong way, and to achieve a thing mankind had attempted to achieve for eons. Thus, upon its completion, Elysium was the birthplace of something you are very familiar with, Megaman. It was here that the first Refractor was created!"

Megaman's jaw dropped slightly, as everything was coming into clearer and clearer focus.

"However, the refractor was not to be used in the way that it is used today. Today, carbons use it in a grossly inefficient way, piloting airships and usually wasting more than 99% of its true power potential. Given our records, refractors were created to be centers for nuclear fusion. Basically, a way in which energy can be used to form matter, but that's a crude description… More like change it at the atomic level. Refractor centers were created all over the world, although their specific purpose was never discussed by humans, and the new Units worked together with the old ones to create them. They were shown to be an incredible source of power, and with it, the idea was to rebuild Terra after its destruction.

However, their true purpose was to be much more horrifying and unbelievable than anyone could have guessed. These centers, or what you call ruins, were actually built on top of the infrastructure of the Elder System, which dominated the barren wasteland that was now Terra. Millions of Elders lived and worked in these conditions, in order to return the world to its proper state. But mankind knew that Terra was now a place where only these… androids… could survive. So they did the only thing they thought they could do."

Before Yuna had finished saying this, another chill swept down Megaman's spine, and the room became slightly darker and the lights began to dim a bit more, as if in response to the story Yuna was unfolding…

"Mankind decided that the time had come to finish what they had begun, and used Elysium as the ultimate weapon against the Elder System. You see, unknown to the world, Elysium had become a self-sustaining human habitat, and the Units lived along with them in harmony, and these new "Quantum Refractors" were being controlled by Elysium. Thus, all of what remained of mankind was transported onto Elysium, while the Elder System worked tirelessly to save the planet to bring them back down again…"

Yuna sighed…

"Despite everything that had happened, the Elders and humans loved each other, and mankind, looking down on its creation, decided to do something unthinkable…"

Yuna looked around the room once again, gesturing to a large control panel. "In an instant, right here, in this very control room, Mankind doomed the entire Elder System to oblivion."

"How?" Megaman cut in, "What did they do?"

Yuna continued sadly.

"The Quantum Refractors. Although unable to attain the nuclear fusion of, say, a star, they were able to generate enough power to create a single type of molecule, and generate it in vast amounts, enough to destroy the Elder System and everyone in it."

"…What… What was it…?" Megaman stammered out, knowing the answer before it was even given.

Sera stared into Megaman's eyes

"Water."

**Just finished rewording a few things in this chapter. So far this was my favorite chapter to write, for the obvious reason that it does what Capcom has refused to do with these stories, which is to create a cohesive storyline between all of the different series of Megaman. I do want to point out, at this point, that this story will not be focusing on the Battle Network, ZX or Zero series in any way other than possible reference. Reading about and playing those games led me to believe that they were a way for Capcom to make money off of the Megaman series by creating reboots of the series that either involved Zero more than X, which isn't necessarily a bad idea, or to just go completely off-base and only loosely relate the material to the Megaman Series (ZX). However, it just ended up having too many plot holes, and is so far out of the continuity of the rest of the series that I didn't think they were really all that important. But don't get upset, I don't think that the games are bad, as many have told me that they are their favorite incarnations, but they just weren't as well written and were really more like segues and tangents than actual timeline events. But just ignore these notes, and please let everyone you know that loves Legends that this story is around for them, to make up for Capcom's failures and to bring Megaman Legends Back… (Even though I don't own or claim to own anything but this story)**

**Legends Never Die**


	3. Chapter 2: Cold and Dark

CHAPTER 2

"COLD AND DARK"

The gravity of what was just told to him hit Megaman like a truck…

_Water…_

It was unbelievable… inconceivable… Everything that he thought he knew about the world was slowly drifting away from him…The oceans, the sea… were created artificially? And worse yet, were apparently an endless grave for countless beings?

"…Water…" Megaman whispered, as what had happened began to slowly dawn on him. "And the Elders?"

Sera picked up where Yuna left off.

"The Quantum Refractors were activated in unison, and spun at their maximum output capacity. No one was entirely sure what would happen, as it was a theoretical science at that point. However, mankind had decided that they were willing to take the risk. Thus, the Quantum Refractors performed a fusion reaction which resulted in the binding of Hydrogen and Oxygen, which formed water. But not water in a slow, systematic, pouring way…"

Sera gestured around her at the equipment and high above, at the ceiling.

"Imagine being in this room when suddenly, instead of air, everything turned, almost immediately, into rushing water. Now imagine this happening, not in a few places, but everywhere on Terra. You may be able to grasp this concept better than most carbons on Terra, as a Digger… but imagine all the refractors you have ever known… that is nothing, nothing, with what lies underneath that water. You will be able to power your little machines for Eons to come, and the Refractors generated machines that were able to produce even more, but I'm getting ahead of myself…"

"The air with which Terra was surrounded was quickly being fused into water. The Elders… They didn't really even know what had happened… Millions of lives were completely obliterated in the twinkling of an eye. These aren't the Reaverbots you know today, these were sentient beings that saw death coming to greet them, and in their final moments looked up into the sky… At Elysium… and screamed in terror."

"All this time…" Megaman began, "I've always thought of the Elder System as a bunch of Reaverbots causing trouble… I never thought about living things… about what had really happened… I just assumed that they ran out of power or something, or that the world had moved on and they had just…. I don't know… rusted away."

Sera stared at him again. "The truth is much more terrible…"

She looked up at the ceiling

"This is Mother Unit Sera, requesting permission to access Primary Archival Data." Sera spoke loudly into the room.

A booming voice answered her, seeming to echo into Megaman's mind.

"COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED. ACCESS GRANTED TO MOTHER."

"ELYSIUM, state the Primary Reinitialization's timeframe."

"PROCESSING…"

Megaman jumped back in shock… seemingly from nothing, out of the very air, a holographic projection seemed to morph into a sphere which filled up a large portion of the room, and became recognizable as Terra… But it wasn't Terra at all… Megaman looked in horror.

It was a nightmare planet

Craters and valleys stretched for miles, and a huge crater marked what was, Megaman could have guessed, the impact point of the old space colony. But what was most intriguing were the large masses dotting the planet, which when zoomed out after the hologram was completely expanded, Megaman could guess were cities… but nothing like the cities now, they were massive things, with buildings reaching out and seemingly touching the sky. It was truly unbelievable.

Then the voice spoke

"PRIMARY REINITIALIZATION ORDER GIVEN AT MINUTE 1 IN YEAR 0 AS RECORDED SET DATE OF "NEW HISTORY" AS PER ORDINANCE 00001. "NEW HISTORY" BACK UP MEMORY CREATED MINUTE 2. QUANTUM REFRACTOR ROTATION COMMAND ORDERED, MINUTE 2. OPTIMAL REFRACTOR SPIN CONFIRMED AT MINUTE 3, 45 SECONDS."

On the hologram, Megaman watched as the planet began to completely glow… But he realized that wasn't quite right, as he looked closer, there were millions upon millions of individual lights, glowing in different colors and intensities.

"MINUTE 4: FUSION REACTION COMMENCES, BEGINNING PRIMARY REINITIALIZATION OF PLANET "CODENAME TERRA" (SO NAMED AS PER ORDINANCE 00005)."

Megaman watched as the entire planet began to look like it was being immersed in a thick fog of blue smoke, but quickly realized what it was. He was watching the elements being pulled together… quickly… so quickly…

"MINUTE 6: PRIMARY REINITIALIZATION COMPLETE. ESTIMATED LOSSES: 34,546,993 "ELDER" UNITS (SO NAMED AS PER ORDINANCE 00003), DESTRUCTION OF ELDER SYSTEM : 87%. FUNCTIONALITY: MINIMAL"

And as quickly as it had come, the now almost entirely blue sphere melted back into nothing, leaving Megaman staring blankly after it, as Yuna bit her lip and Sera clenched her fists together at her sides.

"The truth, Megaman… was that life on Terra was destroyed in 6 minutes."

Megaman just stared at the two of them, willing them not to speak anymore, but compelling them to continue.

Yuna started, "Well… That was really it for the Elder System then… there wasn't really much they could have done, even if they had known. But perhaps it was for the best, anyway. It seems to me that they were pretty violent as it was. But I'll move on."

"The purpose of the Primary Reinitialization was actually two-fold, and was the real reason for its creation in the first place. Mankind knew that the planet, in its condition, was not going to sustain human life, and thus they attempted what I guess you could call a "reboot". By covering the planet in water, and resetting the atmosphere from the pollution and degradation that the colony, and mankind and Elder System themselves had created, they had basically created a brand new planet. Plants could grow again, the atmosphere would return."

Sera picked up the thread. "Of course, in its current state, a water-covered Terra wouldn't really be that much better than the old one. Instead, they developed a new plan, one in which they knew would be their ultimate salvation, or their ultimate doom if it failed."

Megaman had begun to grasp what the final parts of this story, and started to fill in the blanks themselves.

"They created us… I mean… They created people… Carbons…"

"Exactly. The lives of "Mankind", as you know it to exist, began as a scientific experiment of environmental hospitality of Terra, and a type of social experiment to conclude on the negative nature of human kind, to prevent the catastrophe from ever reoccurring. Each island was selected for individual resources and other materials necessary for life, and carbons were created."

"How?"

"Through the same technology we were created by, to a point. Genetic samples of true humans were used to create Carbons, and thus the creation of the population of Terra on Earth. However, the current population as you know it is actually the 3rd generation of Carbons, the other 2 being completely reinitialized after certain population parameters were met."

"…It's like what Megaman Juno said to me… On Kattlelox… He said that they had overpopulated and must be reinitialized…"

"He was a newer version of a bureaucratic model… 3rd class I believe… That meant that he was created in the beginning of the 3rd generation of carbons, in addition to his actual rank, and was dealing with the current issue Elysium was attempting to control. Generation 1 was created to see if life was sustained, if the ultimate gamble had all been worth it. Luckily, Generation 1 survived, but was destroyed immediately after, and Generation 2 replaced them, in order to determine if carbons would be able to sustain their OWN lives… also known as procreation."

Megaman cut her short, "Wouldn't it have just been easier to just leave them alive and see if it worked later?"

Yuna and Sera looked at each other. "That was the original idea, but in the end the Units convinced mankind that it was necessary to begin the life experiment again, so as not to include any extraneous factors that may have existed from the first generation. You need to think more like a machine Megaman, they thought of them like cells in a petri dish, not as people."

Megaman gave a look of disgust, which Sera took as an opportunity to continue

"Generation 2 was, obviously, a success, and thus was promptly reinitialized."

"WHY?" Megaman shouted. "What possible reason could they have killing an entire group of people AGAIN!"

"Overpopulation. Which brings us back to Megaman Juno and the 3rd generation, YOUR generation. Mankind obviously felt as you did, Megaman, and figured that a more strategic plan should be required, and thus the reinitialization program was expanded upon, giving each island a specific Program, bureaucratic model for the district, and EDEN system."

Megaman was forcefully reminded of Kattlelox Island, and his momentary terror in thinking they were all going to die.

"It was decided that here, at last… after more than 1000 years after the Primary Reinitialization, mankind would once again return to Terra; True mankind."

Sera looked at Yuna again "I still remember, to this day, the fact that the Master cried every time he talked about what happened next…"

Megaman looked from one to the other, and then asked… "What?"

Yuna answered. "Well, upon arriving on Terra, Mankind was elated and began to develop their own places to live… However, after a period of only a couple of weeks, they had all begun to die.

Megaman frowned at this, thinking of his memory of the Master and his death on Terra himself.

"The reason for this was because they had been living on Elysium for so long, their bodies were incapable of returning back to Terra, and died from simple things such as bacteria and plant life… But more than that, they began to disassociate, like molecules coming apart. The environment had become too much for them to bear, and they in fact dissolved into energy being released back into the atmosphere. It was devastation. 90% of mankind was destroyed because of it… and in the end, the irony of it all was that mankind couldn't return to the world they had remade, because of what they had done to rebuild it. The Quantum Refractors had changed the world, and only the genetically enhanced carbons, and their rugged lifestyle, were able to live there, apart from us, who had no problem being there as we were machines anyway. It was at this point in time when the Master became the Master, and lived with the fellow remaining true humans on Elysium while they watched their creations below them begin to develop into what they are today. In the end, when many of the humans had passed on, the Master began having second thoughts about the perfect world in which they had created. After all, on Elysium, he hadn't aged, and had been there since the beginning… Although he was one of the few who could claim that…

In the end, he decided that these "carbons" weren't carbons at all… and that they were more human than "true" humanity had ever achieved. Though they may die, they had learned to truly live, as the people on Elysium had forgotten, long before Elysium was created. It was actually you, Megaman, as Megaman Trigger, who had given us this insight into the last man's final years. When he gave you his genetic sample, he erased our reason for being, and that was what caused all the turmoil that brought us to this point today_."_

Sera came over and took Megaman's hand in hers, "I know this isn't easy to take in all at once, but we needed for you to understand, to comprehend the past so that we can change the future…"

Megaman squeezed her hand back, and hugged Yuna as she came over to comfort him as well. "I understand… But what do you mean, change the future?"

Yuna let him go.

"Well I guess there really isn't any point in NOT telling you everything now, but you would come to realize it anyway sooner or later. You came here to destroy the System, and you did. Elysium is no longer what it was… Unfortunately for us all, that may not have been what was best for the world in the long run, assuming Sera didn't kill everyone had we left it alone…"

Sera looked at her feet and shuffled around a bit, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry"

"It's all old news now, Sera, don't worry… I'll explain everything… well nearly everything… when we get back to Terra, alright?" Megaman said bracingly.

"Well, Megaman, that's actually the true reason why we wanted to talk to you…"

Megaman was slightly taken aback… All that he learned, the giant steps that he had taken in just the few hours spent in this room, and that wasn't what he needed to hear?

"I don't know if I can handle too many more revelations at this point, ladies, truly…" Megaman said with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Unfortunately, this one is much more pressing to the matters at hand, so we are going to tell you anyway…"

Yuna sighed deeply. "In short, Megaman, Elysium is dying."

Megaman had a hard time grasping this one for a second… "Dying? You mean, it was aliv…"

"No, not alive." Sera interrupted, clearly trying to explain this quickly. "After our battle, the System has been deactivated, but so has Elysium itself. We are slowly losing power, and eventually, we will go offline permanently. On a larger scale, this is going to have huge ramifications… In fact, it's already started to happen. On Terra, below, the water levels have already begun to recede. In effect, the resetting of the planet has begun its final stage.

Sera brought the Hologram back up into the center of the room

"The world as it is today is almost entirely water, but soon, it will go from this… A blue planet, to this."

She waved her hand, and the globe changed, with the water receding, moving down and down until landmasses began to appear, large masses of land that stretched for a long time could be seen, but then, the water stopped.

"Once the Quantum Refractors lost their input signal, they have ceased their relentless creation of water, and the world will equalize back into a truly ancient state of the planet… What it used to be before all of the chaos began, forming these large islands. Ancient records used to call them 'continents'. While this will be good for Carbons, it is also bad news as well. According to the final scans of the planet before Elysium shut down… The Elder System had begun to reactivate. It was Sera's original responsibility to monitor it…"

"Wait a minute, I thought you said that the Elder System was destroyed?"

"Almost entirely, but not quite enough, apparently. In the thousand or so years under the depths, the Elder System survived. Underground… ruins I guess you could call them… stretch for miles and miles now. This is a really big problem for the obvious reason that the Elder System will take back what was originally theirs, but also for another, more subtle reason."

"Someone, or something, has realized that Elysium has been destroyed. The Elder System did not reactivate of its own accord. Something is driving these relics back into existence, and it's obvious that whatever this person or thing wants, is not good, and has its own agenda."

Megaman frowned at this, but accepted the truth of the words almost instantly. It made sense to him. "Well what can we do?"

"From here? Nothing… And unfortunately that is the true problem we are facing right now…" Yuna answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… um… Megaman, haven't you wondered why I have taken my original shell again?"

The question was so strange to him given the current conversation that it seemed almost absurd.

"…No, why would I? You are gonna give Roll her mother back, when we get home…"

"Well, yes, that is the plan… But haven't you wondered why she isn't walking around with us? Talking to us?"

Megaman was once again slightly surprised. "I guess I never really thought about it… I just figured when we got back everything would be ok…"

"Megaman, I've put her body into a stasis pod, like the ones you saw on Forbidden Island back on Terra, because I believe that we may be in for a few…. Complications…"

Megaman stared at her. "What do you mean, complications?" he asked darkly.

Sera decided to answer him when it was obvious from the look on Yuna's face that she wasn't ready to give an answer.

"Now that Elysium is dead, Megaman, there isn't anything generating power for the station to run on… and because of that… Life support functions are slowly disabling as well… It is why everything seems to be getting darker, as you've noticed… and also that problem you talked about earlier…"

Megaman felt fear clutch his heart slightly.

"What problem?"

"Feeling like you couldn't breathe… unfortunately; it means that air circulation and creation has been halted. While that itself is bad enough, the heating of Elysium is also disabled. You said so yourself, you kept your armor on because it felt cold, and this is because this planet is… well… not so slowly freezing in the vacuum of space."

Megaman took this in, and responded slowly… "So you… you're saying that we are going to… freeze to death? Or suffocate?"

"Neither of those things will happen to us, but you… and Matilda…" Yuna muttered…

Megaman was instantly hopeful. "It will be alright! Roll is gonna come rescue us soon! She won't stop till she brings us back home!"

Sera responded this time. "We know Megaman, and we are counting on that, but you have to understand… With Elysium dead, its stabilization has gone into emergency orbit, siphoning off most of its power to maintain its position in space."

Megaman was confused, "So… What does that mean? We will move? Where will we go? Drift into space?" he blurted, panicking.

Sera and Yuna looked back at him.

"No."

Sera looked back up at the ceiling.

"Elysium? Estimated time till collision with Terra, or any given avoidance measures?"

"AT CURRENT POWER LEVELS, ESCAPE TRAJECTORY IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE DUE TO EFFECT OF GRAVITATIONAL FORCES. AT 78% CAPACITY, AS CURRENT, IMMINENT COLLISION WITH "CODENAME TERRA" WILL COMMENCE IN 5 MONTHS, 22 DAYS, 6 HOURS."

**Originally, this chapter and the previous one were meant to be a single chapter, but I think that the amount of information presented sort of warrants a break between ideas. I'm glad you decided to stick with the story as far as you have, and I'll keep on writing.**

**Please Read and Review, and add in as many comments and signatures from the devroom as you want. I know that this is a poor replacement for the actual game, but I'll do the best I can for everyone.**

**Legends Never Die**


	4. Chapter 3: Inspiration

CHAPTER 3

INSPIRATION

Roll pressed the button to open the side hatch of the Gesellschaft II, and was momentarily blinded by the sunlight flooding through the open door. Roll smiled inwardly… At least the sun was shining! Perhaps after working on the rocket for a while, they could take a break and enjoy the weather… Roll needed something to make her smile these days. More and more she was reminded of the soul crushing days when she would stare out of the Flutter's window, and imagine what life would be like when she found her parents again. Unfortunately, the crashing realization always came after; she might never find them. She always retreated back into her room on days like that. But today she couldn't retreat back into her room, not when everyone was counting on her, especially Megaman. But the bags under her eyes showed just how much the effort was wearing on her.

She put a hand over her eyes and peered out through the door at the scene below her. The warship sat on the far side of what they had developed into the main launch site. Draches and cars moved here and there, scattering like ants, moving supplies back and forth, and at eye level with Roll, the newest rocket was taking shape.

Unwillingly, she cast her eyes to the right, towards the front of the ship, and pouted cutely at the sight. What appeared to be the makings of a city appeared to be unfolding in front of her, and the hustle and bustle of life could be seen stirring in the morning light. Roll began climbing down the ladder, and instantly regretted not throwing something on over her underclothes that she usually wore with her trademark red shirt and shorts. Lately, the rocket required a decent amount of welding and other things that required special fireproof clothing, and it was a mistake to wear multiple layers in the middle of the summer. She knew that by the time she reached the rocket staging area, she would have to deal with the annoying by-products of Teisel's "Master Plan".

Luckily, she realized that she wouldn't be heading there right away, as she wanted to head to the Flutter, her family's own airship, to see if she could find Gramps and see what he wanted with her. She turned around and climbed down the ladder, looking to her left as the Bonne insignia passed by. She couldn't help but appreciate everything the Bonnes had done for them, and she laughed inwardly, thinking of how often the Bonnes seemed to be such bad people, yet proved their hearts in the end.

"Money can make good people do wicked things I guess…" Roll said to herself.

Roll stepped out onto the ground, turned, and was immediately assaulted by Data, the little mechanical monkey who always seemed to be present.

"Well, hello there Data! Beautiful day, isn't it?" Roll asked him nicely, feeling that her good mood would carry her at least for another hour.

"Ee EEE!" Data said curtly, hopping up and down, waving his little fists in the air.

"Data, why are you so upset with me? Can't you see I'm trying? I know you are worried about Megaman, but I am too! Don't worry, we'll get up there soon… For some reason, I have a really good feeling about today…" Roll trailed off

Data huffed exasperatedly. While he may not know everything, he DID know that there was much more than just saving Megaman at stake here! These two girls were going to be the DEATH of him! Their pride to be the one to bring him back down to Terra, to kiss him, WHATEVER! It didn't matter to him, and he knew that their pride was gonna get everyone killed, and he was sick of being ignored by the two smartest people he knew!

"eee eee EEE EEEE!" Data hopped along in front of her, leading Roll towards the rocket.

"No Data, I'm sorry, I have to go find Gramps first, he's looking for me!" Roll put her hands on her hips. "Now make sure Tron doesn't do anything crazy, ok? I'll be back soon!" Roll brushed the hair on Data's head back, and Data closed his eyes like a dog. "Say what you want about Roll," he thought "but she sure is nice!"

Roll began the trek over to the Flutter, which she admired as she came closer.

"That ship has been through a lot… I'm still surprised we've made it as far as we have, hunh girl?" Roll asked rhetorically to her pride and joy.

Jumping out from behind the bushes, however, was something to break her out of her reverie.

"Roll! Hi there, remember us?" A large boy shouted out, followed by two smaller boys, who clearly thought that this wasn't a good idea, as they shuffled shyly behind the leader. "It's me! Jim! And you remember Osh and Bensley! You know, from Kattlelox Island!"

Roll was completely startled by the sudden appearance of these three boys, but she tried her best to place their faces. She eventually did remember them hanging around her while she was working on their old support car, which was currently being used as a mobile Servbot medical station at the launch site, as they seemed quite prone to disaster.

"…Ye…yes, of course I remember you, how are you?" Roll asked sweetly, putting her arms behind her back and smiling at the three boys. Bensley, the smallest of the three, blushed deeply and became very interested in a beetle crawling across the grass.

"We're great, now that we've seen you!" Osh blurted, then quieted down as Jim nudged him in the ribs.

"Don't mind them, Roll, they're just not used to meeting celebrities!" Jim laughed uproariously, as though such a thought was beneath him.

Roll frowned at this. There it was again… "Celebrity"… If almost getting blown to pieces and shot at constantly makes you a celebrity, then she would like to opt out.

"Please, guys, I'm no celebrity, I'm just a normal girl like you… I mean… well you know what I mean…" she faltered.

"No way!" Bensley piped up, "The duo who found the keys to the Mother Lode, who saved Kattlelox island, and explored Forbidden Island and lived to tell the tale? You two are Legends!"

"Right!" said Jim. "Which brings us back to why we are here. As I'm sure you are NO DOUBT aware, Osh, Bensley, and myself have created a famous architectural partnership, with digging on the side! We are known as J.O.B. Incorporated, as in we will get the job done, to build your house, and power it too!" Jim finished dramatically, gesturing at each one of them for each letter of the acronym. "We are here because we wanted to help you reacquire our main requisitions officer and digging specialist!"

Roll was slightly taken aback… "Uh, yeah… sure… J.O.B… and uh… who are you talking about?"

"MEGAMAN of course!" Osh interjected, receiving another jab in the ribs from Jim.

"Yes, we wish to help out in the new rocket effort, with our combined strength, we can travel all the way to the moon no problem!" Jim spoke loudly, hoping to impress any nearby people with his bravado.

"Um… well… we could always use some help…. I guess… But I don't think that Tron will…"

"Oh forget about that PIRATE" Jim interjected rudely, "We haven't forgotten what she did to our town, even if everyone else has! If Paprika was here right now, I'd have her climbing right back up that lamppost!" Jim and company laughed at his joke.

Roll could see that they hadn't matured at all since the last time they had met, and once again she felt like she was out of step with the rest of the world, being constantly reminded of which when she switched from talking about Refractor Absorption frequencies with Tron one minute, then having to put up with hearing latest fashions and gossip with the girls in town. She just never seemed to understand "normal" girls, and they never seemed to understand her, being the "super genius" that she was to them. Of course, that didn't stop her from being polite…

"Well I don't know exactly how you can help at the moment, but perhaps you guys could keep away all the people who keep wandering into our launch site. We don't want anyone getting hurt…" Roll finished lamely. She didn't expect them to catch the sarcasm in her voice, and sure enough…

"No problem Roll! We are your guys! We'll make sure it's nice and peaceful around here for you two ladies! Come on, boys!" Jim waved his arm to the other two, and they started to walk off, but not before Bensley had turned back around, his face beet red, and almost shouted "AND-IF-YOU-GET-SOME-FREE-TIME-MAYBE-WE-CAN-DO-SOMETHING-LATER?" He blurted out as a single word, before getting knocked around by both Jim and Osh, where she could hear them berating him for not "being cool" until they finally turned a corner and left.

Roll smiled a little, thinking about how cute that was. She had never really considered being with anyone before, and it wasn't until recently she knew how she felt about Megaman. She had always had her little crushes, the lead singer of her favorite band being one. But now…

She looked up in the sky, and the orb hanging there, taunting her.

She knew she only wanted one person. Badly.

"Roll!" A familiar voice hailed her, breaking her out of her reverie. Barrel Caskett, followed closely by Von Bleucher, came into view behind a crate marked "Power Coupling".

Roll only vaguely noticed this, but it settled into her subconscious as interesting that Tron hadn't said anything about procuring this rare and expensive piece of equipment. At the moment, however, she had eyes only for her Grandfather striding towards her.

"Hey Gramps! I heard you were looking for me!" Roll called out to them, him with a big hug.

"I can see you're well on your way to having another rocket!" Bleucher said, looking warmly down on Roll. Ever since her success on Forbidden Island, Bleucher had come to really respect Roll and her opinion on mechanical engineering. In fact, when she wasn't building the rocket, he usually asked for help in rebuilding the Sulphur Bottom, which he had recently started to undertake again, even after the disastrous losses he had taken last time.

"Hee hee, yeah, we've all been working real hard!" Roll smiled back

"I'm glad to hear it, and I'm so glad you have Tron to bounce your ideas off of, she's such a good young lady at heart." Barrel said softly.

Roll bristled at this. For the past month Tron has been working this façade, appearing to be repentant and contrite, and basically getting these old men to do whatever she wanted done in town.

"Tron is such a devious little witch…" Roll thought inwardly, but replied "Yeah, she's a big help…"

"Glad to see you two worked out your differences." Bleucher responded wisely, having the tone of one who knows the value of teamwork.

"Su..sure…" Roll replied lamely.

"Roll, the reason why I was looking for you was because I wanted to talk to you about your work habits… You've been pushing yourself too hard. I see those bags under your eyes; you didn't sleep again last night, did you?" Barrel stated accusingly.

"No, no, of course I did, early night, knew I had to wake up early!" Roll lied. She was, in reality, running on about 4 hours of sleep over the past two and a half days, but she didn't want either of them knowing that…

"You were always a terrible liar Roll, even as a child." Barrel laughed. "So today, I've called off all working on the rocket!"

Roll's jaw dropped, and she clenched her fists angrily. "And Megaman? I'm sure he's just going to twiddle his thumbs and wait for us to finish taking our break then?" Roll asked hotly.

"Now, now Roll. I'm sure he's fine. If they were able to travel up there, I'm sure that they are doing just fine now. Either way, working yourself into a coma to try and save them isn't really helping anyone, so Bleucher and I have decided to call a halt, and Teisel agrees with us!"

"Since when does Teisel decide what we can and can't do? I'm sure Tron is in the process of ripping his arm off and beating him to death with it as we speak." Roll replied matter of factly. Of at least that she had no doubt; Tron was the only one who could match her will to bring Megaman back down. "Just because he's in charge of this island at the moment, doesn't mean he's in charge of saving Megaman!"

"We'll see, but as it stands right now, Teisel has organized a huge beach party on the other side of the launch pad, and has invited the whole town to come and enjoy the sun with us…"

"Gramps! I'm not going on a beach holid…"

"Yes you are, and I won't hear you say no. You've been trying so hard to avoid everyone during this time, but you should talk with them, maybe socialize a bit. This is really a big step in society, to be sure. But this is really becoming unhealthy for you!" Barrel replied curtly.

"Bu…but!"

"No buts!" Bluecher laughed amiably.

"Fine!" Roll countered, "but I have to go to the Flutter, I don't have my bathing suit or…"

"Already taken care of!" Barrel replied happily, lifting a bag Roll hadn't noticed until now, seeing her red bikini strap hanging out the side of the zipper.

Roll's hopes at being able to escape to the Flutter and fly off to somewhere where she could work without interruptions burst like a bubble on a pin.

"Gramps! No! Come on…! I'm not going swimming!" She tried desperately.

"Enough!" Bleucher called out suddenly, and immediately two guards came scurrying out from behind some boxes, each wearing blue uniforms, carrying machine guns across their waists.

"I thought you would be difficult, so now, you have no choice. We are kidnapping you to have fun!"

At the other end of the rocket staging area, things were proceeding just as roughly…

"Are you out of your MIND?" Tron screamed.

"Tron, calm down, it's not all that bad." Teisel replied weakly.

"Not all THAT BAD? You hailed me on the radio, saying to come down IMMEDIATELY, and see what I find? A beach party for the rocket team, with everyone and his MOTHER here to pester us!"

"Well, I just thought that getting out once in a while wouldn't hurt you! After all, we're volunteering for this rescue mission you know, and a little R and R is exactly what we need right now to save the blue boy!"

"Teisel, that doesn't even make SENSE! How does not doing anything solve EVERYTHING? I'm heading back before anybody sees me!" Tron finished in a tone that hinted at ultimatum.

"THERE SHE IS!" Yelled out a female voice from nearby.

Tron closed her eyes and attempted to control the building rage at her brother for tricking her into this mess. As the camera crews rushed in, Tron forced herself not to turn around and give Teisel a good slap across the face. The last thing she needed right now was for a break! A break means that she was giving up, and then she would never see Megaman again. She let his face fill up her mind as she turned around to face the cameras, which she had done such a good job of avoiding up to now. She thought Roll had at least one thing going for her; she seemed to have a knack of getting out of trouble that Tron lacked.

"Miss Bonne, Miss Bonne! How is the latest Rocket coming along?"

"Miss Bonne, are you here for the Beach Party, everyone is waiting to see you!"

"Mr. Teisel, what do you think of the latest growth in popularity your sister has achieved, do you feel like you need to protect her?"

Teisel laughed loudly at the last question, and replied "I'd be more worried for YOU! MY sister is much more dangerous than she looks, and I'm sure that NO BOY is gonna come snooping around without a Bonne Bomb being thrown in his face!"

Tron looked down as Teisel fielded most of the questions. She could tell that being in the limelight, or laughing in the midst of wreckage and spoils, was where Teisel was at his happiest. Tron, however, shared Roll's disgust at the situation. Since she had turned 17, the world had started to become a very different place for Tron. Most of the time, pirating and looting was fun, albeit it dangerous, but no one really was hurt, and she loved inventing little machines that helped her accomplish her goals. Life was so simple then. Now she had to deal with the constant pressures people kept forcing on her, looking up to her now as some sort of beacon and technological marvel. As much as she tried to show otherwise, she was embarrassed and out of her element when not behind the controls of her Gustaff, telling people to return to their homes or be shot. The straight and narrow road seemed to be pretty taxing on Tron, but it seemed to suit Teisel better then he let on. At least, that's what Tron thought… Perhaps their pirating days were over?

"Are you planning on enjoying the beach today Tron?" asked a random reporter, shoving a microphone down Tron's throat. Tron stepped back hastily and replied, resigning herself to this new life she had gotten herself into.

"Of course… I know I can't build a rocket when my hands are sore, so I need some time to flex my fingers…" Tron thought quickly, trying to think of something inspiring to say, and failing miserably.

The crowd laughed anyway, and Tron broke out, saying she needed to go change into her bathing suit, so that they would leave her alone. As she walked away, she began contemplating how their life had changed so rapidly. Growing up had increased her responsibilities so much, she wished that she didn't have to tow the line for Teisel's sake. But she loved her brother, and as much as she hated to admit it, both her and Roll were working themselves to the bone, as she knew for a fact that neither of them had eaten anything for quite a while. Not surprisingly, as she thought this, she saw Roll herself getting dragged along by two burly looking men, followed closely by Barrel and Von Bleucher, and who clearly seemed to be going to this beach social party kicking and screaming. Tron smiled slightly at that, feeling, in spite of herself, a slight growth in affection for the blonde spotter, who had just caught sight of Tron beating a hasty retreat from the news crewman, talking just loud enough for Tron to hear.

"See? Tron doesn't wanna be here either! Just let us go, it will be fine!"

Barrel just laughed, and Tron smirked a little. She may be out of her element, but at least she wasn't throwing a temper tantrum. She knew there was more to it than just taking a break, she knew they were worried about the two of them. She knew Roll wasn't stupid either, she was just being difficult.

Tron decided to help things along.

"Professor Barrel!" Tron called out to the pair following along behind.

"Ahh, Miss Bonne, I see Teisel managed to bring you down here as well!" Barrel laughed, as Roll looked at Tron with a face that clearly stated "Stop being so saccharine."

"Let me take the beast off of your hands for you, she'll be safe with me, I promise." Tron smiled winningly at the two old men, who smiled back, and nodded at the two "beastmasters", who let Roll go, who went and stood next to Tron while the two old men went off down to the beach, where people were beginning to set up tents.

"I don't believe this, I would figure you of all people wouldn't want to be here, Tron." Roll stated, looking at Tron like she had committed some form of treason.

"Don't worry, blondie, I'm just here to make my brother happy. I don't want to be here anymore than you do."

They both looked over at the growing crowds, knowing the constant barrage of questions and pictures would soon follow.

"How do you think Megaman would handle all of this?" Roll asked.

Tron was completely taken off guard. Roll had _never_ asked her something like that before, and especially about Megaman.

"Well… I guess he would just deal with it. He's way better at this hero thing then you or I could ever hope to be…" Tron answered truthfully. "To be honest, this isn't like me, and as soon as it's over, we are shipping out and dropping off the radar."

"Hmmm… Wish I could go with you sometimes…" Roll mused softly. Tron shuffled uncomfortably. There it was again, that feeling of companionship with this other girl. It was such a new feeling for her, to have a friend outside of the ones she created herself. Granted, the Servbots were more trouble than they were worth, most of the time, but they were nice to have around. This was different, and it was nice to be able to share things with someone who at least knew what she was talking about.

"Look, I say we run back to the rocket and try to at least weld on that drag flap before they find us and hogtie us to stay down here." Tron said mischievously.

"…No… to be honest… I think I may need the break for real…"

Tron looked at the blonde spotter, flabbergasted. This was certainly a day for firsts between the two of them, obviously. First laughs, and now the girl was showing weakness! Tron leered back at this comment, not quite willing to show how close to wits end she herself was. "Well look at you! High and mighty Blondie finally think she's lost her touch! Don't worry, I'll more than make up for your slack!" Tron boasted haughtily. Roll just sighed and looked at Tron as they both headed towards the changing tents.

"If you can come up with a way to break through the atmosphere that I can't, then please stop holding out on me, because I'm tired of being disappointed every time…" Roll said sadly, knowing Tron's show of confidence was just that. A show.

Tron looked down at her shoes, feeling the defeat creeping out of Roll and into her, and this time letting it seep in. "….I know Roll…"

It was that, saying Roll's name, more than anything, that made Roll look up and smile. "You know, I told Megaman once that I'll always believe in him, and the same goes for us… I think I just need a day to forget about aerodynamic soundness and just… be a kid again, you know?"

Tron opened the flap to the nearest tent and looked over at Roll.

"I think we can manage that…"

Tron walked into the changing tent, not surprised to find a little yellow head poking out from behind one of the seats.

"I know I left it in here somewhere. Teisel will be mad if I lost his lucky tropical shirt!" a little voice drifted out from behind the luggage rack. "If he gets mad, he'll tell Miss Tron, and I'll be in sooo much troubleee!"

"Ahem!" Tron cleared her throat loudly.

"Ack!" The Servbot tumbled out from behind the baggage, clutching a bottle of suntan lotion and looking as though the world was about to cave in

"Mi…Miss Tron! I… uh…"

Tron smiled. This particular Servbot was Tron's latest invention, apart from the multiple rockets. Tron had decided that in lieu of any Bonne family member being there to give instructions, the Servbots should have their own leader to which they can turn, if they needed to.

This Servbot was the result of Tron's newest invention, the Positron Omitting Omicron Database Guiding System… or the POODing system as it was affectionately called by the Bonne family after a particularly funny incident involving a mispronunciation of the word pudding at the break table by Teisel.

Needless to say, this Servbot was proving to be a helpful companion for the Bonne family, greatly decreasing the need for supervision of all the Servbots, and programmed to perform self-maintenance. Hence this Servbot, after receiving the Red Hat Parts to prove his superiority, began running the Mobile Servbot Maintenance Service. Roll had let them use an old car she had in the Flutter… But at the moment, Tron was curious about what he was doing.

'You know this is a changing tent, you can't be in here, or else people will think we are stealing their stuff!"

"I'M SORRY MISS TRON!" The Servbot yelled in agony "I've lost Master Teisel's shirt! I know I left it in here somewhere…" The Servbot finished dramatically.

"Its ok, 42, I'll tell you what. I'll come in here and change, and you go look to see if Teisel is already wearing it, ok? I'm sure you just forgot about it!" Tron smiled a little at that. She always did seem to have a knack for creating things with wacky and crazy personalities, no matter how advanced.

"Rogeeeer!" 42 yelled as he dashed out of the tent.

Tron laughed as she changed into her bathing suit, and could hear Roll doing the same thing in the next tent. The sounds of laughter and playing set Tron a little bit more at ease. Maybe this whole idea wasn't so bad after all.

Roll, on the other hand, was quickly sliding into a depression. She had almost completely lost hope in ever being able to solve the problem of achieving orbit. She had run the numbers again and again, and there wasn't an engine efficient enough, or a refractor large enough, to maintain that kind of power. She slipped into her bathing suit slowly, not relishing the fact that she would soon have to deal with everyone yet again. She sighed, defeated, as she step out into the sun, and to a great cheer from the crowd, as Tron emerged next to her, and both walked towards the beach, with the air of a convicted prisoner walking off to the gallows…

But then Roll had an idea…

"Pardon me, make way, setting up the towels over here!" Osh yelled loudly so everyone backed away a few steps, allowing Roll and Tron to lay out on the sand. Roll had to hand it to herself, it was a pretty good plan. Upon leaving the tents, and finding Jim, Osh, and Bensley in the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two bikini clad women, she had called them over and asked if they wanted to have a special mission just for the three of them. She told them that they wanted to have a fun day, but didn't want to be pestered in every direction by the press and those "horrible boys who don't care about us at all but our looks" (Tron of course, picking up immediately on the ruse, had added this to a particularly strong effect.)

In the end, J.O.B. Incorporated turned out to be a pretty good find for Roll and Tron, using them as a sort of security detail to keep the main bulk of reporters at bay, but allowing other kids and 17 year olds to join them.

Roll couldn't remember the last time she had socialized with so many people. She had to admit, living life as a Digger meant that you were pretty much alone for the majority of the time, and most people that you ran into were either racing you to the refractor… "or trying to take it from you" she thought as she looked over at Tron lounging in the sun.

Suddenly, a voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Excuse me, Miss Caskett, Miss Tron?" A young woman spoke to them through the outstretched arms of Bensley and Osh.

"Back off, they don't wanna be bothered right now! Come back later!"

"It will be just a second, Jim, just let me through!" the girl yelled at the boys.

"…How do you know my name, girly?" Jim asked, as Roll looked up to see what all the fuss was about.

"It's me, Ira! I went to school with your sister, just let me through!"

"Hey Jim…" Roll called to him, "Have her come over…"

"Thank you Roll," Ira said to her as she sat down next to them. She wasn't dressed up in beach party clothing. It looked like she had just come out of a ruin, as she was covered in dirt and looked slightly uncomfortable.

"So your name's Ira? And you are from Kattlelox?"

Tron looked at the two of them, listening in

"Yes, I was there during the pirate attacks…"

Tron looked away, watching the waves crash onto the beach, apparently suddenly oblivious to their conversation.

"I just wanted to come and visit you. I know you never really met me, as I was in the hospital at the time, but I got to know Megaman really well… In fact, because of the digs you guys went on and the money he raised, he donated a bunch of the money he made to the hospital, and they bought the equipment that fixed my legs after the accident!" Ira explained.

Roll was really touched… She had never known Megaman had done that… Her heart flared up, threatening to envelop her…. _Megaman_…

"He… He's always been a good person" Roll heard herself say through her Megaman Fog. To her right, Tron turned grumpily away from, muttering: "Oh man, HERE we go… He's a Hero EVERY minute of the day…"

Ira didn't apparently hear her. "I really do have Megaman to thank for everything, and after you and Megaman and the professor left, I decided to work hard and get the use of my legs back fully, after the driver had hit me downtown."

Roll remembered pretty specifically the completely ridiculous traffic practices of Kattlelox Island, and wasn't surprised to find that this was what had cause Ira to become hurt so badly.

"…After that, I decided that I wanted to become a digger, just like Megaman, so I could help other people who were in trouble. So I just came from the nearby ruins here, looking for things to help in maybe bringing Megaman back down… I know that Megaman had already been through these ruins, so a lot of things were already taken, but I found this…

Ira held up a small refractor and held it out to Roll.

"I know that it isn't powerful enough to blast anything off into space, but I'm sure it will come in handy for something… and I wanted to say that I'll help you in any way I can to bring Megaman back from the second moon… I've seen how you have been so nice to everyone, and I know that if we work together, we can finally do it!"

These last words, however, were lost on Roll, as suddenly all the pieces fell into place. Her heart fluttered wildly… processing the calculations, while all the while staring at the small refractor Ira had in her hand that had been her inspiration.

Tron sat up, scrutinizing Roll's face, having recognized it before.

"Roll?" Tron said, with baited breath.

"…Tron… I… I think I know how to do it…" Roll barely whispered

"WHAT?" Tron yelled out, causing Jim and crew to turn around quickly. Ira just looked between the two, dumbfounded, still holding the refractor, but forgetting all about it.

"What's going on?"

"Tron…. That Power Coupling… in the box… we can use it to create a stasis field, absorbing the power, and use it to spin multiple refractors… We couldn't do it before because of the energy lost…. But now… all the refractors will catch their own energy, and funnel it…" Roll spoke quickly, not really making any sense to anyone but herself, and to Tron, who also started to picture the engine design of such a machine.

"A…A power coupling? I didn't know we had one… But I see what you mean… Roll…. I think that that might possibly work!"

Data began jumping up and down, flipping into the air, and as Roll caught sight of his furry antics, everything started to become very clear.

"Data…. Where have you been?"

Ira looked down at him and smiled.

"Oh, I think this little guy saw me carrying this and recognized me, so he showed me where to find you two… He's a really smart little monkey…"

Roll was flabbergasted, and Tron looked as though Roll was speaking tongues

"Roll, we need to get back to the Rocket right away! We need to start this, we can probably finish it really quickly if we work hard!" Tron said, clearly not understanding what was really at work here.

"Data, it was YOU! How did you get the Power coupling? Those are really rare!" Data's antics previously in the day becoming so much more clear to her, as Data had known that the power coupling was somewhere near the launch site.

Data stopped dancing, and drew a large skull in the sand that everyone there recognized.

The Bonne Insignia

"Teisel?" Tron shrieked excitedly. "I don't believe it!"

"Come on!" Roll yelled as she jumped up, ruining the skull in the sand.

The entire group began to yell and scream happily, as they head back towards the rocket…

A cameraman filmed them as they all dashed off past the beach

"Hey, Frank, come on, don't be perverted…"

"But they're so HOT!"

**I'm sorry that I hadn't started responding to reviews at this point yet…. Maybe because I didn't have any at the time, or because I was being lazy. Either way, I appreciate all the reviews that you guys have given me recently, and to the ones that have said that this may be the greatest Megaman Fan-fic, or fan-fic in general, I say that whatever this is, it's for you, the fans, to speculate over, to hate or love. If you haven't done so already, go to the devroom on capcom's site and sign up to get a Servbot number, and try to save this game. And if you get a moment, please review. It seriously makes my day when you do.**


	5. Chapter 4: His True Function and Mission

CHAPTER 4

THE TRUE FUNCTION AND MISSION OF MEGAMAN TRIGGER

A week had passed since Megaman had been told of the history of Elysium, and the impending doom that hung over the world. Megaman had been almost completely despondent ever since learning that Elysium was on a collision course with Terra, and the only thing that keep repeating itself in his head was "This is all your fault…. All your fault…"

Yuna and Sera had both admonished him for his feelings on the matter

"Megaman, this is no one's fault. Elysium needed to be destroyed, it was what needed to happen, and what would be, would be…" Yuna attempted to cheer him up after a particularly long spell of silence closed up in the Master's House.

Rather than making him feel better, this had created a terrible tension between the two Mother Units, who were taking a calm stance on the matter, and Megaman, who was completely in shambles.

It was ever since then that Megaman had taken to wandering the corridors of Elysium, attempting to heat himself up in the spreading cold, while at the same time, trying to slyly avoid the two Mother Units. Megaman had begun to seriously consider what may happen to the three of them… and Matilda… if Roll didn't come to save them soon. Usually breathing out a sigh of frustration, Megaman would watch as his breath would form a mist in the cold air, and he would start pacing again and again.

He didn't quite know what he was doing, and he knew that Yuna and Sera could hardly be blamed for telling him the truth, but the truth was that he was truly upset over the story that he had been told, not only because of the terrible ending, but because of the truly horrible past that he could claim was his own.

"_Creation for Everlasting Peace"_

It had begun to really make him feel sick, thinking that he had been a part of the massacre of both the Elder System, and the generations of carbons before him. What were these ancients on Elysium? Monsters? He still could not believe that mankind had become so cold in the past; that they had decided to kill off their own creation, even as it tried to save them. And still that phrase bothered him for another reason…. Something darker…. And older….

"Maybe becoming so advanced didn't teach them anything…" Megaman mumbled, as he trekked down a new hallway, leading to god-knows-where.

He wouldn't have been able to put his need into words, but since learning of the legacy that Elysium had left behind, he was attempting to piece together his own time here, perhaps even find a missing piece that would give him the insight into Megaman Trigger's life. Megaman thought about that, as he pushed the door activation leading into another room leading to a room that he hoped would contain some sort of Reaverbot. He wanted the fight, the ability to grapple with something he could _control_, something he _understood_. But even then, he wasn't too sure he understood anything anymore. Was he really a carbon? Or was he still an ancient? Or perhaps something else, some sort of combination of the two?

"Or maybe none of the above…" Megaman said disappointedly as he entered into the room, finding nothing in the room waiting to challenge him. He had found, yet again, only silence. Megaman finally focused on where he had been walking. After having such an introspective walk, he had completely forgotten where he was… or how he had even gotten there. The room was darker than some of the others, and Megaman, after examining the walls, considered this to be because the room appeared to be of an older design. Megaman turned around and headed towards the door, and stepped back out into the hallway.

He looked right, and then left, not remembering which way he had come from, feeling the slight annoyance that such a thing should happen to him now, while he was busy cursing himself for the destruction of Terra.

"I'm apparently just a walking disaster…" Megaman thought to himself harshly, and began to walk to the left, arbitrarily.

The further he walked, the more he knew he had decided to walk in the wrong direction, but kept on moving, hoping that something would lead the way eventually.

"…Megaman? Megaman, can you hear me?" Yuna's voice came over his intercom, and Megaman considered whether to ignore it completely. Then chose otherwise, realizing that he may need her to find his way back out.

"I'm here, Yuna, although I'm not quite sure where here is…" Megaman spoke out into the air, watching the words curl into themselves in the freezing cold.

"Megaman, we were worried about you… We don't want you wandering off alone, especially now! What were you thinking?"

"….I wasn't really thinking, Yuna, I was just….doing…." Megaman said, rather hesitatingly.

"Look, Megaman… We understand how you must be feeling right now, believe me, but we really need your help. We think that you may be the only hope we have in stopping this whole mess!"

"Then tell me what you want to do, Yuna, and I'll do it!" Megaman said rather hotly. "But you haven't exactly been very clear on any sort of plan…"

"Megaman… We're really sorry, and we know how much you are hurting right now, so please, let us at least turn the life support system back on, we can re-route the power…"

"NO!" Megaman yelled loudly, hearing his voice echo down the hallway into the darkness. "I've told you before, I'm not using any power the station has just to keep myself slightly more comfortable! Don't you understand? People down there have less than half a year to live! And what happens after that? Everyone will die, and the world will totally end? If I can stop it… WHEN I stop it, those last ten minutes I may gain from being cold and suffocating now may be all that stands between that doom and salvation!" Megaman barked out, clearly trying to release some of the horrible weight that had settled down on his heart since leaving the Center Command Room.

"…..I understand….." Yuna said softly, with affection coming through the intercom. "Well, at least tell me where you are, so that we can discuss our plans..." Yuna finished.

Megaman looked back and forth down the hallway, and knew that he was truly lost.

"I have no idea Yuna, I was kind of hoping you would know."

"Well, let's see…" Yuna started, "It appears that you have found yourself in one of the old maintenance districts. Many of us worked in the rooms that you are seeing, coming and going throughout the days in Elysium…."

Megaman kept walking, and was suddenly hit by an incredibly strong urge to keep walking down the hallway, to the end, to see what was there. He wasn't exactly sure where this need came from, as he was certain that there was nothing down farther, as far as he could see, his legs seemed to be moving of their own accord, working from some sort of memory. He vaguely heard Yuna's voice through the intercom as he walked

"You should be careful there, Megaman, something is wrong over here on this end… I'm getting some sort of interference. You need to head back the other way if you want to come back here…"

"I… I will… Yuna… Just give me a second…" Megaman continued walking…

Megaman seemed to be walking in a haze, losing himself to something he wasn't quite sure was there…

"Meg…wha…ar…transmiss…king….MEGA…SOMETHIN… RONG…" Yuna sputtered in and out of the intercom. Megaman knew that the transmission was breaking, but something was driving him to keep walking, even though he was beginning to feel afraid.

It seemed as though, with each step, he was walking farther and farther away from reality, and moving into some sort of…. Fever dream…

Suddenly, a figure appeared to his right, a shadow on his mind, running past him. Megaman was so completely startled, he trained his buster gun on the wall to find….nothing…

There was nothing there…

But he had been so sure… A…man? A memory?

Megaman kept going, the feeling that something incredibly important, vitally important, was just out of reach. He turned back to the hallway, finding himself at an old elevator. He decided to travel down it, and found himself face to face with a door.

The door, much like the main gate that was the entrance of the Central Command for Elysium, had something etched into the door… but without Sera or Yuna, Megaman was completely unable to make it out. He pressed his hand to the door, and found to his surprise that the door didn't open at his touch, like most of the others. He shoved the door, and it began to slowly creak back. Unlike the others, this door appeared to be an actual door, on some form of hinge. Looking back, Megaman saw that he was no longer in the residential area, and was, in fact, somewhere much older. Megaman forced the door open, and stepped into the shadowed room. No lights faintly glimmered here. Megaman flicked on a light built into his armor that Roll thought would be useful for dark ruins a long time ago, and he looked around. The silence in this room wasn't just a lack of noise. It was plain that the room was speaking to him in its silence.

Megaman stepped into the center, and shined the light onto the only thing in the room. There, in the wall, was a black opening, like a hole in the wall of a ruin, although it looked like it had been blasted there.

Megaman's mind was feeling distorted, warped, like he had been brought there, sent on a mission from Terra, not to destroy the system, but to find…. This….

Megaman worked up his courage, walked over to the wall… and stuck his hand inside.

Up to his shoulder, he felt around, until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the object and pulled it out of the hole. His hand trembled in the dark, holding whatever this thing was, then slowly trained the light on it. To Megaman's bewilderment, it appeared to be some form of machinery. But upon looking at it closer, he knew that this thing, whatever it was, was something he had never seen before, something so old, and yet so unbelievably powerful, that he stood there motionless, gazing at the unknown object silently.

(Added: "Unknown Item" to inventory)

"_**It's what makes you**_ _**special…" **_A voice spoke.

Megaman whirled around, expecting to see the phantom figure again. But there was nothing.

A flash then, so quickly Megaman was unable to make it out, went across his mind. A flash of blue, and red… and something Megaman knew was something… primeval… to himself…

But it was gone.

"Megaman! You're OK! What in the world happened to you?" Sera yelled out, quite unlike herself.

Megaman had found himself, once again, striding along the grass of the residential area, crunching along as the grass broke, frozen, underneath his armored feet.

And then he woke up.

"Wha… What… What is going on!" He yelled, taking both girls completely by surprise…

"Megaman… what are you talking about? You've been gone for a whole day! We've been scanning everywhere, screaming your name…." Yuna ran over to him and held him in a tight embrace, as Sera took in his completely shocked face.

"A… A day? What happened?"

"We could ask you the same thing, we thought you had died!"

"…Died?"

"Yes! Your transmission was cut off due to some sort of interference, and we've been looking for you ever since!" Yuna explained, with relief spilling out of every syllable.

"But… I've only been gone for a few hours, I just spoke with you…. About… the life support systems… I'm sure of it…"

Yuna was becoming more and more alarmed, and her eyes were beginning to widen in fear.

"Megaman, sit down… are you feeling cold? Did you hurt yourself…? Or are you seeing anything… strange?" Yuna asked carefully.

When she mentioned seeing something strange, Megaman looked over at her.

"Yes, I've really experienced something weird, just now… I don't know what's going on…"

"Megaman, it could be the cold… You may be hallucinating or something… We really need to…"

"I wasn't hallucinating, Ok? And stop bringing that up, I just told you I won't have you turning anything on because of me, alright?"

"…Yes… But…"

"Good." Megaman interrupted, and then looked at the pair of them. "When I lost transmission with you, I went down a dark hallway, and found an elevator, I took it down to a really… well… scary room…"

"Impossible. Your last known coordinates put you in maintenance cell block D. There is nothing at the end of that hallway, it's built as a cluster of blocks for the deconstruction and reconstruction of Units back when Elysium was functioning. There is no elevator there Megaman, and no door."

"Look, I KNOW WHAT I SAW" Megaman yelled at the two, who were looking at him like he was some sort of patient on a psychiatric ward. "Here, I'll prove it to you…"

Megaman took out the object and handed it to Yuna.

Yuna and Sera both looked down at the object Megaman had pulled from the wall, and then looked at each other and back at Megaman.

"What is this?" Sera looked at Megaman, expecting some sort of explanation.

"I…I thought you two would know, it's here, on Elysium! You two are supposed to know everything about this place, isn't it some sort of technology you used to use?" Megaman asked exasperatedly. He wanted to understand this as soon as he could, and was quite shocked to find out that they looked just as puzzled as he was.

"…No, Megaman. Whatever this thing is, it wasn't made on Elysium. It is some sort of technology, but it's something… something much more… advanced, and yet old…. So old…"

Yuna looked at Megaman. "You say you found this?"

"Yes! It was hidden, but there was something here, on Elysium, it spoke to me…"

Yuna and Sera looked back down at the unknown item, turning it over in their hands.

"Well, I may not know what this thing is, but I do know what THIS is" Yuna cried as she pointed to something placed onto the back of the twisted piece of metal.

A recorder chip? An actual DNA recorder chip?" Sera pondered out loud.

Megaman was through waiting for explanations. "What is that, what does it mean?"

"Well… I can only assume that someone was expecting this to be found… and that they wanted to speak to whoever found it…" Sera said matter-of-factly.

"Alright, load it into the input slot… yes… just like that, ok… now initiate the locking mechanism…" Tron called down to Ira, as she loaded the last refractor into place. Over the course of a single week, the combined efforts of Tron and Roll had created "a truly wonderful technological spectacle" as the news crews were describing it. Upon racing back from the beach, Tron and Roll began designing what would eventually be called the Quadrum Engine. Roll's idea in creating a energy vortex field through power coupling had created an engine that, with the use of four refractors, was able to generate power levels that Tron would later describe to the world at large as "More than enough to go and visit the sun, if we planned on stopping there..."

The Servbots were working in frenzy, attempting to finish the guidance engines on the front of the rocket, and finish the rocket body, so as to be ready when the engine proved to be functional. Roll and Tron, upon completion of the first prototype of the engine, had decided to test the engine outside of the public eye, for fear of creating too much excitement, if the plan failed.

Roll wiped the sweat off of her brow, thinking about the elation that day had brought to her…

"_Are you ready?" Tron asked, smiling despite the incredible danger they would all be in if something went wrong._

"_Yes, Beginning optimal spin of all four Quantum Refractors!" Roll called out to the Servbots manning the controls. Servbot 42 nodded to 12, and he pressed the spin cycling button. The engine had begun to hum to life, spinning all four refractors in a beautiful dance of red, yellow, green, and blue, until all that could be seen was a beautiful white light, that shown out through the warehouse windows in which they worked, and lit up the night sky._

"_Begin countdown sequence!" Teisel yelled, gripping the iron handle of the railing he stood at so tightly it was a wonder it didn't snap of in his hand. "I don't think I can TAKE this anymore!"_

"_Beginning countdown! 5….4….3…2….1!" Roll yelled_

"_BLAST OFF!" Tron screamed, jamming her finger into the ignition sequence._

_The engine fired so violently, and yet so controlled, that everyone had assumed something had gone wrong._

"_Did it misfire?" Von Bleucher asked Barrell, who stood next to him waiting with a smile on his face._

"_I don't think so…."_

_"Tron, energy levels are off the scale! Energy expenditure rates are nominal, there's no way we couldn't make it to Elysium now!" Roll jumped up and down, throwing her hands in the air._

"_Alright! Let's build the last goddamn rocket!" Tron yelled back!_

"Ok, we're all set here, now all we need to do is make some final adjustments to the steering module and we should be able to test it remotely!" Roll called over her shoulder to the other engineer, sitting at the programming computer, wearing a lab coat and hilarious looking swirly glasses.

"Already on it, Blondie!"

Jim, Osh, and Bensley looked at the two engineers working so hard on the rocket, and felt like they were out of their element.

"Hey, you!" Jim called out to one of the Servbots.

42 looked around at the three young men. "Yes sirs?"

"Need any help… you know… doing stuff?"

"Yes! Miss Tron said that all the waste products need to be moved to a safe receptacle outside of the launch site! Unfortunately, all of us are working hard to finish the rocket body according to the plans Miss Roll drew and designed for us!"

"Leave it to us!" Osh said proudly. "We'll pull our weight around here!"

42 gestured to the corner, where a mountain of heavy mechanical scrap was mounded, almost to the ceiling. "Thank you sirs! You are truly great helpers, we should follow your example!" 42 skipped off happily, thinking that this would make Miss Tron happy.

Bensley looked at the massive pile, while Jim looked at Osh, as both started punching him around.

:"Just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?"

"Couldn't just be quiet, hunh?"

"oww oww, guys!"

Roll looked over at the launching pad…

Soon, Megaman, soon… Please be alright… we're coming for you!

Megaman, Yuna, and Sera had once again found themselves in the Central Control of Elysium, in the hopes of analyzing the mysterious object.

"Elysium… uh…. Could you tell us…um… what this is?" Megaman stammered, holding the object out in the air, towards the center of the room.

COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED, FIRST CLASS PURIFIER UNIT MEGAMAN TRIGGER. ANALYZING…..

The object lifted out of Megaman's hand, and revolved slowly in the air, making slow turns. Eventually, the DNA chip and the object separated, and hung there in space, as the computer once again spoke.

THE OBJECTS HAVE BEEN SEPERATED IN ORDER OF IDENTIFICATION.

OBJECT ONE IS A DNA RECORDER CHIP, MODEL CLASS 001, PROTOTYPE MODEL.

"Hmmm… that's interesting…. That makes it old… really old…. Older than Elysium, actually…" Sera said, "Whatever is on that chip, it was recorded either before Elysium was created or right after. DNA recorder chips were the first designed for the use in OUR Units, after the Elder System. They were created from something else, but no one really knows what… Elysium, retrieve archived DNA data!" Sera called out again.

…..ACCESS DENIED…

"What?" Sera replied, totally outraged. "This is Mother Unit Sera, retrieve archived DNA data!"

…ACCESS DENIED… ACCESS MAY ONLY BE GRANTED TO MEGAMAN TRIGGER…

They all stood completely motionless at this new bit of information. If it had been recorded before Megaman Trigger's time on Elysium, how did it know he existed?

"Um…." Megaman vouched rather stupidly… "Elysium…. Access DNA archive data…" Megaman finished.

….ACCESS DENIED…. ACCESS MAY ONLY BE GRANTED TO MEGAMAN TRIGGER ALONE…

"Well, I guess that settles that… come on Sera, we have to leave, or else we will never know…" Yuna grabbed Sera's protesting hand and dragged her out of the Command Room. "Just let us know when we can come back in!" She yelled at Megaman as the doors sealed shut.

Megaman stood in the room, alone… almost not daring to repeat the command.

"Elysium…. Do it…."

Almost as soon as he said the words, the lights shut off, and the chip and machine fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

ERROR! ERROR! DISTORTION THREAT DETECTED! ATTEMPTING QUARAN…GGRUAGRG;LURE KKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!

The voice trailed off in a series of hisses and static, and then it was silent. Then, in the middle of the room, where Megaman had seen the globe of Terra, a blue figure appeared, standing in blue armor, with a face Megaman recognized.

His own.

It was different in many respects. Older, more machine like. But underneath the helmet, he could see himself, and Megaman was truly afraid.

"_This will be my final recording. Strange though it may seem, I am recording this to you, and saving the true memories of the world, inside of this DNA chip. While you are no doubt confused as to who I am and what I mean, all that you must know will come in time. However, the circumstances of this recording are such that I must explain the essentials to you first, in order for you to grasp your true purpose._"

"_My name is X. To you, this name will mean nothing, as was their intended purpose. The erasure of all previous events in history was planned, for the specific purpose of carrying out one final action against all of mankind, and Reploid-kind. I have recently discovered that a force that was once a great evil on this planet has not been completely eradicated. You, who will be a part of the new race of Reploids, will_ _be unable to grasp the gravity of what I may tell you, but everything that you know on this world is a lie. The new form of Reploids were created with the genetic imprint of a Reploid Virus, known as the Maverick Virus, that caused many of your predecessors to lose control, and lash out violently against both man and Reploid. Mankind, in thinking that it will escape to space, will in fact trap themselves on this space station, and will eventually be killed by the Units sworn to protect them, either directly or indirectly, by allowing the humans to return to Earth, killing them off through disease. All of this has been planned, and I am unable to stop them in this current form. This System will eventually destroy the Earth, killing everyone still remaining, and create a new robot utopia on this "Elysium". The reasoning for these actions are unknown, but in order to stop this, and stop the failsafe action programmed into Elysium to crash into the planet if Primary Systems are shut down or if the plot is discovered, you must find the last 3 keys to the Maverick Virus. After obtaining them, you must decode the virus and find its true source. If you can accomplish this, you will unlock the final truth that I have been unable to discover, linking me to my own past, and be able to destroy Elysium once and for all."_

"_The Reploids, what I have come to understand will be referred to as the "Elder System", have captured the one device capable of destroying a space colony; The Enigma Cannon. It was, however, in total disrepair after I, myself, used it to destroy the original colony, Eurasia. If you can decode the virus, you will find the cannon, and be able to save the planet. But be warned. There are some things in this world far older than the Reploids, and I have recently come to understand that I was the original blueprint for the Reploid Race, created from something else. This however, is irrelevant at the moment, as my true origins are not determined fully, but they will need to be in order to save mankind. If you have found this… this… piece of my body… then you are the result of the new Unit Conversion that I will be subjecting myself to after this recording. You are Me, and I am You. What form I will have in the future I cannot possibly imagine, but I know that they can never change me, as I will be keeping myself safe in this module that you hold in your hands. While your memories may never return, you're abilities will. If you can find a way, reinstall this module back into your body. It was created in my…. Initial form… and has stuck with me ever since… It is what many don't believe to exist… my soul… a robot's soul…. And with it, you will gain back your most awesome power."_

"_My job is finished, but yours is just beginning. Carry on my work, and no longer trust anyone on Elysium. They are, in one sense or another, Mavericks. And they will destroy you, they do not give up."_

_Find the Maverick Source Code Coordinates…._

The figure held out what looked to be some sort of beam saber, ignited the end, and plunged it deep within his own chest, carving out his own chest plate, reaching into the circuits that laid beneath, and ripping out what Megaman recognized as the very piece of metal that laid upon the floor at his feet.

'_You will know where to find them… After all, you were the greatest maverick hunter in the world… But perhaps you will be something more…" X stammered._

The transmission ended… and Megaman was plunged back into darkness.

**Another Chapter edited. If you haven't already, leave a review, or a memory of playing these games as a kid, maybe we can work together to save Megaman Legends 3… Or if you just like this story more, let me know about it!**


	6. Chapter 5: Conflicts of Interest

**I don't own anything, but if I did, I'd be one rich dude, and this is exactly what would happen in Legends 3, cause that would be amazing….**

**Alas, I can only cater to you.**

**Things are starting to roll into motion here, but it will take a bit more to start really developing. I'll try to keep the chapters connected and as exciting. I'm loving the reviews though, please, keep em coming, it's what makes or breaks these kind of stories!**

**Remember, though, this is a Legends Fic, that is attempting to explain ALL of Megaman, so get ready for a lot of blasts from the past(s).**

CHAPTER 5:

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Megaman stood in the darkness, absorbing what had just been revealed to him in a message more than 1000 years old, as his body shook, shivering from the cold. The image of the figure on the DNA chip was still burned into his retinas, like some sort of blue nightmare. Megaman's heart was racing, and yet he felt like the entire world had ground to a halt, had stopped revolving entirely.

He… He was, a recreation…. Of this man… this machine, named X?

A small corner of his mind saw the possibility of such a thing being true, but it couldn't be, could it? Yuna and Sera HAD said that he had existed long before the time of the purifier unit, but did that also mean before Elysium itself? How could they have possibly not known that he was, in fact, some sort of…. Hybrid….

An Elder? Or something? Being used as a disguise to continue some long forgotten work?

And what of this Maverick Virus? Megaman wasn't quite sure he had understood… It seemed to be a thing connected to the distant past… and yet X had known that the final act that the space station was to carry out was to be to crash into the planet?

Wasn't that happening, even as he stood there in the center of the pitch black room?

"But if what he said was true…" Megaman thought slowly… "Then that means that…"

His heart thudded against his chest…. Yuna… and Sera… they were…. His enemies again?

"No." Megaman said resolutely. "I don't believe it. It doesn't make sense. If they were planning on destroying the planet, then why haven't they killed me since getting me to trust them? No doubt with me out of the way, there would be nothing standing between Terra and Elysium, and their final plan would proceed without a hitch?"

Again, a tiny voice cried out from the back of his mind. "The cold…"

Megaman shivered, and found that this time, he didn't feel warmer. He was starting to lose the feeling in his fingers, even through his Kevlar padded armor.

"Are they killing me… slowly?"

Megaman's mind seemed to be running at a ridiculous pace, but only just plodding along… If only he could get out of here…

He then realized that, while escaping Elysium may be impossible without some sort of divine intervention through Roll, Megaman knew that just leaving this room may have its dangers as well.

They were outside. Waiting for him to give them the news.

"They aren't affected by the cold…" Megaman thought, "I can't fight them like this, I hate to say it, but I'm not sure how much longer I can last out here without their help… Do they really want to save Terra by stopping this station, or is there something else going on here?"

What am I going to do?

"What is taking so long in there?"

Sera was pacing back in forth in front of the door, attempting to hear any noises coming out from behind it, any snippets of dialog that may be particularly juicy.

"Come on, Sera, we know Megaman is just going to tell us as soon as he comes out, so just be patient!"

"Hunh! Says you! Megaman has in his possession perhaps one of the most important discoveries on Elysium to date! Perhaps it's about the past, or the Elders? Don't you want to know?"

"I'm not so sure…" Yuna said seriously, looking over at Sera gravely. "Sometimes things are better left alone. I've found that out on my time on Terra. People who discover new things and act on the information they are given can do incredibly dangerous things. Take Matilda for example. She and her husband Banne…"

"Yes, yes, I've heard the story a thousand times from you Yuna!" Sera interrupted rudely, clearly not agreeing with her Mother counterpart. "They travelled to Forbidden Island, leaving their father and daughter behind to attempt to find a treasure that didn't even exist! But just think; we may be able to use the information to better ourselves, and the world! The ancient technology of the Elders was nothing to scoff at, it produced us!"

"Sera." Yuna looked at her friend harshly, "How can you be so foolish! In less than 6 months, there isn't going to be a world! And nothing to improve! This station is going to kill everyone down there, unless we stop it. Megaman can't do this alone, and I plan on helping him, no matter what he plans to do about it!"

"Yuna! Sera! You can come back in… I can't see anything, so I can't open the door!" Megaman called, muted through the thick door between them.

"Finally!" Sera said, activating the door, and watching it open for the two of them.

The lights slowly came back to life, and Megaman turned to look at the door opening, and the two figures coming through. Megaman knew that he only had one shot at this. If they suspected, even for a moment, that he doubted them, he may never make it back home.

"Megaman!" Sera rushed over and grasped him in an embrace, shaking him softly. "Tell us everything! What did it say? Did it tell us something we didn't know already?"

Megaman stiffened at the touch, but relaxed as soon as he became aware of the effect it had had on Sera's greeting.

"Megaman? What's wrong?" Sera looked hurt.

"…Nothing… Nothing, Sera, don't worry! I'm just…. Really cold… Not so fun anymore, heh heh…" Megaman thought quickly.

"Well… it's not like I'm lying" He thought to himself…

"Megaman! We wanted you to tell us when it got too cold! We can set up a stasis pod just for you! That way…"

"NO!" Megaman said, a bit too harshly. "I mean, no, Yuna… I just… I wanna be around, helping plan and everything, I can't afford to be locked away, it's too important…"

Megaman felt his heart racing… thinking that if he was put in stasis, he may never wake up.

"…Alright Megaman, but please, what did the chip have to say?" Yuna said gently.

Megaman was prepared for the question, but was still scared that they wouldn't believe him.

"It…It was the Master…" Megaman said. He had chosen him because he was the only one they might believe was capable of both being around back then, and willing to do what needed to be done. He knew that if they thought about the fact that he hadn't KNOWN the Master all those years ago, it would all be discovered, so he tried to speak quickly.

"It only had allowed me to open it because… Because I was the only one he trusted…"

Knowing this information was being scrutinized, he continued.

"The Master said that he used an older chip because…. Because the System would have a harder time analyzing it… if… if it was found…"

"That was silly of him" Yuna said, looking at Sera. "He should have known that Elysium would have been able to crack an old DNA recorder prototype chip rather quickly, if given the chance…"

"Uh…he... said that he was more hoping that the chip would not be found until Megaman Trigger… I… Found it, and was hoping for the best…" Megaman said, trying to cover up the fault in logic.

Yuna nodded to Sera, "That sounds more like him. Leaving it up to faith," They both laughed, and Megaman relaxed slightly, feeling a bit bad for lying to these two girls.

"Uh, yeah, so… He said that… that he had suspected that Elysium may one day have to be destroyed… He… He said that the kind of power that it held over the carbons may be too much of a lure for someone… or something bad… so he said he…remembered… a cannon long ago that had the power to destroy a space station…"

"The laser cannon!" Sera said, nodding along. "While his reasoning was flawed that he assumed we Mother Units and everyone on board Elysium would allow someone to take control, it was still wise."

Yuna nodded sagely, and Megaman's breath caught in his throat. "_Would allow someone to take control…"_

Megaman kept talking, knowing he was walking a fine line.

"He said that, in the end, it may be necessary to fix this Enigma Cannon…"

"Enigma Cannon? Was that what it was called? How did he know that?" Yuna said, excited in spite of herself.

Faking that he had assumed the question to be rhetorical, Megaman proceeded.

"He said that in the event that Elysium should ever need be destroyed, we would need to go down to Terra and find three… Parts… for the cannon. He wasn't very specific where though… So I'm hoping that maybe THIS will shed some light on the situation." Megaman held up the still unidentified piece of equipment. "He said that it needed to be… connected… to me somehow, and that after that, I would have some sort of power… Maybe something that would help me to find these… Things…" Megaman said, his teeth chattering.

'Well that's it then!" Yuna said excitedly. "We need to get back down to Terra and find some parts to fix that old cannon! Luckily for us, we happen to know a really good engineer, that I'm sure would be more than happy to do anything for you, Megaman!" Yuna winked at him, and Megaman felt himself give her a small half smile back.

"If we get back down… I'll have to find some way to keep them in the dark" Megaman thought to himself. "I can't let them hurt Roll."

"Finally! I was beginning to think we were going to just allow this travesty to happen!" Sera said, with one of her not-so-rare-anymore smiles gracing her face. "Looks like all we have to do now is wait for rescue!"

"And how exactly was that any different than ten minutes ago?" Yuna said, laughing.

Megaman took his finger off of his Mega-Buster Activation module.

Meanwhile, on Terra, a much more overt conflict seemed to be the only thing standing in the way of mankind and space, and seemed, for most around them, to be much more likely to end the world then the moon crashing into them.

"I WANT TO PILOT IT!"

"IN YOUR DREAMS! HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE DO YOU 'CLAIM' TO HAVE? NONE? YEAH, I THOUGHT SO!"

"Look, you and I both designed it, so you know as well as I do that I can fly it!" Roll said testily.

"So what? Claiming that you can fly it and actually DOING it are two different things! How many times have you sat on your pretty little BEHIND while MEGAMAN did all the work for you! I bet all you did was steal money from him for weapon development, then have a nice good laugh while he runs around getting shot at!" Tron retorted, with a glint in her eye.

Both knew that she had gone too far, but as far as Tron was concerned, it was true. How could she claim to be his partner when all she did was to sit there and tell him when there was a door in front of his face." I'm sure he could see it just fine without you blabbing in his ear all the live long day!" Tron thought to herself.

Roll had crossed the line from seriously angry to downright dangerous.

"HOW DARE YOU! ALL I'VE EVER DONE WAS BE THERE FOR MEGAMAN, AND WHAT DO YOU DO? RAID TOWNS AND TRY TO KILL HIM! DON'T YOU DARE SAY I'M SOME SORT OF MALCONTENT, I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU! ALL YOU DO IS ROB PEOPLE BLIND BECAUSE YOU'RE EITHER TOO STUPID OR LATHARGIC TO WORK FOR YOUR OWN MONEY! YOU'RE JUST AN EMOTIONALLY STUNTED BRAT WHO WISHES FOR WHAT SHE CAN'T HAVE!"

Tron reared up like a snake about to pounce… Saying she couldn't have him… That little piece of…

Tron raised her hand back to knock this little jerk's head off, while Roll aimed a punch that would hopefully knock some sense into this stuck up, moronic pirate

"GIRLS! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Barrell said, clearly alarmed at how quickly the situation had escalated. "This isn't about Megaman! This is about getting up into space! This is about your safety and security, not some high school drama! My word, Jim, would you please?"

"Way ahead of you Prof…" Jim said, grabbing a hold of Roll, while Osh and Bensley grabbed onto Tron.

"It's my ENGINE!"

"It's MY guidance system!"

"We would still be sitting here slack jawed if it wasn't for my idea!"

"ROLL!" Barrell yelled, completely taken aback by Roll's attitude. He had never seen her so defensive before, as if there was some huge underlying battle between the two of them that he wasn't quite understanding… "Roll, we all have to admit, the Quadrum Engine is by far one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen in my lifetime, but Tron's control module is so technologically advanced, and so precise, that one slight miscalculation because of unfamiliarity may kill you both! Now I'm rather loath to even considering sending EITHER of you into space, but as you are the only two who could ever HOPE to fly this contraption, I'll just have to let that go. But what I will NOT do is stand here and let you tear out each others' throats, do I make myself clear!"

Roll hadn't seen Gramps this worked up in a long time, remembering all the times she had walked away with a sore bottom after seeing those malice filled eyes after spilling oil on the rug as a child. She went limp in Jim's arms.

"…..Alright Gramps…" Roll conceded

"YEEES!" Tron said triumphantly, as Osh and Bensley struggled to maintain their grip. "Alright then! I'm not wasting any more time! We are going out to make the announcement that we are taking off tomorrow!" Tron yelled out, shaking the two boys off of her and marching over to where Teisel sat, with a steaming cup of tea in his hand, where he had been watching the spectacle with his youngest sibling, Bon Bonne.

"Teisel?" Tron looked at him expectantly.

"Babbu. Babu babu babu BABU. BAAABBUU BABU." Bon said fearfully.

"No Bon, don't worry. The test firing of the rocket went smoothly, and there were absolutely no problems with the remote controls, which means that there is nothing wrong manually either! We checked air pressure, seals, everything! This isn't our first rodeo you know!" Tron said happily, shaking her finger at Bon.

"babuuuuu…" Bon said, obviously not as assured.

The face of worry that everyone seemed to be wearing around Tron and Roll seemed to think that such a hasty flight may not be such a good idea.

"…Um… I know I'm not a rocket scientist… But… No one in the history of the WORLD has ever done this before, Tron…" Ira said from her seat next to the rocket. "We are all really worried about you two… Maybe we would feel better if it wasn't so soon… Or maybe more than just the two of you… you know… Lighten the load…"

"That wouldn't make it lighter, you'd just be dragging the rocket down!" Tron said, obviously using the play on words, but also noting the concern in the young girl's voice, so she softened her own a bit. "But we had calculated for that. With equipment, we can only take 5 people, 6 at the most, and with Megaman on board, that already makes 3!"

"…and…. And my mother…" Roll said quietly, and everyone turned towards her. "So that's 4. We honestly didn't really want to test the weight capacity, we just wanted to know what it was… for the Gustaff…"

"And you AREN'T going to leave THAT behind! Who knows what kind of _CRAZY_ things are up there?" Teisel said, with not just a hint of finality in his tone. "And I can't go with you, unfortunately, according to the police…" Teisel said, grinding his teeth together, and then mumbling something about "missing out on the treasure…"

"We can go!" Jim said, pointing out his compatriots. "We aren't afraid!"

"It's not a question of courage, dummy!" Bensley said testily.

"Actually boys, I was thinking I could use your help with something here…" Von Bleucher said, just having come back from the bathroom.

"…Mr. Bleucher?" Jim said, barely containing his suppressed glee at the direct reference.

"We will discuss it later…" Bleucher said, obviously not allowing for any misunderstanding in the word "later".

"Yes sir!" Jim and company replied, completely forgetting about the ridiculous space mission to save what's-his-face.

"EEE EEE!" Data said, hopping up and down.

"Don't worry Data…" Roll said sweetly. "You are the only one who has anything close to experience with any of this. After… my mother… told us where they were going, she said you were a big help… I've already made a little seat for you!"

Data settled back into his Data-Dance, content at the response.

"I…" Ira said softly, "I want to go with you."

Everyone looked at the digger, slightly surprised at her attitude.

"Look, I know that its more dangerous, but I have to go! Megaman saved my life! I would do anything to bring him back down again! He's the reason I am who I am today, and it's because of him that I need to see this "Elysium" for myself! I would be too ashamed to look in the mirror if I at least didn't try! He's counting on you, and if he needs help, I'll be the first in line!"

Roll was slightly taken aback at the young girl. She clearly understood how dangerous the mission was, and yet wanted to help anyway. She thought that showed true courage, and a real taste for adventure… Just like Megaman… Maybe they might need her after all… While Roll couldn't help wondering whether Ira may just be sporting a little schoolgirl crush on Megaman, she couldn't help but admire the effort

Tron, on the other hand, took offense immediately to what Ira said, assuming that Ira was implying that they didn't care as much about him as she did, and she didn't like the fact that Ira was so fond of Megaman. She couldn't get rid of Blondie, unfortunately, but she could at least stop this little upstart from trying to get down and dirty with her man!

Roll said "Ok, Ira…" at the same moment Tron spat "No way!"

Ira looked at the two of them, obviously torn.

Roll looked at Tron, "We don't really know what we are going to be facing up there. It may actually be good to have another digger with us, she could really help. She's a lot like Megaman, actually…"

Tron stared back, "We have more than enough power with the Gustaff, and why should we feel the need to test our weight capacity just so some second class digger can run along behind us, no offense, Ira." Tron said, barely concealing the offense.

Ira looked hurt, but replied, "This isn't some sort of quest to save my wanna-be boyfriend, he's done a lot for me, and I do care about what happens to him… It's why I need to go, aren't you doing the same?"

Roll and Tron looked down at their feet. Both were slightly ashamed at Ira's words. But then again, Ira had no idea at the depth of the feelings these two had for the boy in blue. To them, it wasn't rescuing a wanna-be boyfriend… It was rescuing so much more.

Tron was the first to hide her emotions. "Fine. Come if you want. But don't be surprised if we have to leave you behind because you can't fit!"

Ira smiled at her, "Don't worry, we can always just leave Roll behind first, right?" Ira turned and laughed, winking at Roll. Roll giggled a bit, in spite of herself.

"Well I guess you SHOULDN'T come then, Ira… he he he"

Barrell nodded gravely, "That's fine. But isn't this all happening a bit too soon? Even if you make it up there, who's to say that you'll ever come back down? No one has ever been outside of the atmosphere before, who knows what could happen?"

"Well, Gramps… I think Tron's right… and I think we are going to find out tomorrow…

Outside, the atmosphere was much more chaotic than inside the grim warehouse. Everyone was hustling and bustling in the warm night air, setting up cameras, doing pre-taping interviews of famous celebrities and engineers, all in the hopes that tonight, they would at last hear the news about the rocket.

After having watched the test firing of the rocket, and its safe return back down to the ground, people all over the world had come to visit the little island. Boats and airships were scattered like bees in a beehive, circling around the island, with daily performances by island celebrity musical guests and fireworks displays on an almost nightly basis. People were beginning to celebrate what was to be mankind's first trip to the stars!

Even a few hopeful pilots and diggers sat outside the warehouse, hoping against hope that perhaps they would be chosen to come along with the crew, on a mission that was sure to change the course of history forever!

Suddenly, from the door of the warehouse, a loud creaking was heard, as Bon opened the doors for those inside. A torrent of noise greeted the group, and the familiar sounds of clicking cameras was heard from all over, their bulbs flashing in the dark.

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman…" Bleucher began, using his incredible charisma to somehow not yell, but still quiet down the entire island in its uproar.

A daring news anchor threw up a microphone to the group, in which Teisel deftly grabbed and handed to Bleucher, as he bounced on his heels in excitement for Bleucher to tell them the news.

"It's all coming together…" Teisel said softly, as Tron looked up at him, curious at what that comment meant, but then Bleucher began to speak, and she turned back towards him.

"Good Evening… Ladies and Gentlemen. As you are no doubt aware, over the past month, we have been in the process of developing a rocket that may breach the borders of our world, and enter into the next frontier… Space. Over these few weeks, you have been incredibly supportive to all of those involved, and we thank you most kindly for it."

A small smattering of applause and a few whistles echoed into the night air.

"Professor Barrell Caskett and myself have always been pioneers in exploring the impossible, having attempted to breach areas that had been deemed impossible. Of course, my expedition last year giving proof of that. But as I'm sure you are all aware, I was beaten to the punch by a sixteen year old girl, and I no doubt had egg all over my face…"

The crowd laughed heartily. They were all well aware of the story, and were all both happy for Bleucher and Roll in their accomplishments.

"I'm talking of course, about Miss Roll Caskett here, the granddaughter of Professor Barrell."

The crowd let loose a torrent of thunderous applause and cat-call whistles, and Bleucher put his hands up for silence.

"In addition, some friends of the family had decided to aid Roll's mission, along with my own aid, by bringing in some talent of their own. The Bonne Family…"

A mixture of wild applause and a torrent of boos and hisses came from the crowd, as Teisel smiled even wider and Tron blushed slightly.

"The Bonne family has more than made up for their previous ways, and one of them in particular, Miss Tron Bonne, has added Roll immensely."

Huge applause again, with chants of "Tron! Tron! Tron!" came from some undefined chorus of male voices.

"Yes… These two mechanical geniuses working together have created something of which we thought may only exist in dreams, and in so doing…"

"Ahhemm…" Barrell cleared his throat pointedly, without looking at Bleucher.

"Ah… ahem… Yes, well, I'm just a bit excited, as well…" Bleucher said sheepishly, as the crowd laughed sympathetically. "Without further ado, I give you Roll Caskett!"

Roll took the microphone from Bleucher, and waited for the crowd to quiet itself. She was worried she wouldn't be able to speak, something which Tron noticed, and looked at her with a look that said "Do you need me to?"

Roll shook her head, smiling at the pirate, grateful that their fight had subsided for now.

"Thank you…. Thank you all so much for being here! I'm not very good at this, so I'll just tell you. With the latest test firing of the rocket, we had decided that it is capable of travel in space!"

The crowd cheered, but quieted quickly, waiting for the rest…

"We… We have agreed… that at noon tomorrow, we will be firing the rocket with crew, to travel up to…the moon… to save Megaman!"

The crowd hushed, then the little group was blown back by the explosion of noise that came out…

Roll attempted to continue, "Now I know that many of you were hopeful in coming along on this journey, but it has been determined that due to weight constraints, the crew will be limited to only necessary personnel"

A collective "awwww" was heard, as Tron sniffed pointedly and Ira grabbed her shoulder in embarrassment.

Roll continued, "Thus the crew will consist of only myself and Tron, and our chief digging expert who has decided to remain anonymous for the time being."

The crowd murmured at that, speculating.

Tron grabbed the microphone, "Thank you so much, see you tomorrow!"

With that, she threw the microphone into the crowd, turned around, and headed back in the direction towards the Gesellschaft II and the Flutter. The rest followed suit, except Jim, Osh, and Bensley, who headed back towards their own tent, assuring Roll and Tron that they would be back bright and early to help in the lift-off.

Tron and Roll walked side by side, back to their own respective house-ships, when Tron suddenly asked:

"Will we make it?"

Roll looked up at Elysium, thinking about her answer.

"I hope so…"


	7. Chapter 6: Blast Off Zuhilfekommen!

**I don't own anything, it's all capcom's brainchild. I just own this story, but who cares if people steal it, more people to read it, and I'll know the truth… lol**

**I've gotten some really good reviews, and I'm happy, but 5 just won't cut it. Tell me what you're thinking! Tell me what you want to see! I'm glad people are liking this, it makes me want to write it more and more.**

**Remember, though, this story only follows the main timeframe games… which are supposedly Legends, X, and Classic. I know zero and battle net have their place… but this is hard enough as it is… haha.**

**I had a review about the number of chapters planned… probably a million, lol. Enough to finish the story right, but not too many that it drags out unrelenting.**

**I hate to do this, because I was planning on just doing this all as one whole chapter, but I've split it into 2 parts, because I have to go to work so... oh well... Perhaps it would have been too long that way...**

**Special thanks to Servbot 42 and Cere at Megaman Legends Universe found at .com. Go there. Seriously. Now.**

**And without further interruption…**

CHAPTER 6:

BLAST OFF, ZUHILFEKOMMEN!

It wasn't like she was expecting anything different, but Tron Bonne didn't sleep at all well the night before take-off. Granted, she could always blame the bags under her eyes on the stress of the flight, but in all honesty, she knew what the real reason was. She tossed one way, and then another, trying to get comfortable, while she could feel her heart pumping in her chest in excitement.

She finally sat up in her plush bed, looking over onto her night stand.

4 am

She slumped back down, pouting comically, as she slowly counted the seconds as she gazed into the blackness of her room.

It wasn't as though she was never expecting to see him again. Obviously, she had put this much effort into going to save Megaman, she had just sort of assumed that they would go, pick him up, and be back down in time for dinner. She never really considered what having him around again would mean.

Sure, before working with Blondie on this rocket, she wouldn't have been so keen to meet up with him, as it seemed like every time she did, he ended up blowing up another Gustaff. But this time… Maybe…

Maybe it could be something more…

She squealed into her pillow in excitement, smiling down into her bed, where no one else would see…

Maybe he would stop being so naïve and come around to her side… Maybe she could even construct her OWN room for him in the Gesellschaft II…

Her mind obviously in overdrive, Tron rambled on to herself about all the ways she was going to make him pay her back for all the hard work. Or maybe pay him in kind for all the humiliations she had suffered at his hands.

Kiss him right in front of that no good Spotter?

Blow HIM up and watch him run around naked?

…That one had a nice ring to it…

She laughed to herself. It was silly… ridiculous! How could she have gone from such an innocent crush to this? Tron Bonne was no sap! Leave the romantic dates to the philistines! Give her a bank robbery any day of the week! And yet, as she was lying down in bed, slowly feeling sleep starting to get the best of her, she started to consider what life would be like after she brought Megaman back down for real. She didn't have trouble thinking of scenarios in which she yelled at him for being such a complete moron, leaving her here all by herself and going off on one of his ridiculous heroic quests!

"First thing I'm gonna do when I see him is slap him!" Tron said, with a slight purr in her voice that even she didn't miss.

With pleasant thoughts of robbing banks with Megaman in her head, she finally was able to drift off to sleep.

xXx

The morning came sunny and cloudless. It seemed that Terra was as ready for the trip as the crew. Under the blue sky, the crowd was already beginning to rub the sleep from their eyes, knowing that this was to be the big day! Children waking up their parents like it was Christmas, asking whether they could ride on the "Mini Rockets" that had been set up, and news crews setting up their cameras on high hills, hoping for the best possible angle to record history in the making.

On board the Gesellschaft, however, Tron was shaken awake by a familiar hand.

"Tron… Tron… Get up, let's get this show on the road!" Teisel smiled down at her.

Tron smiled back without opening her eyes, completely aware at the strain in her brother's voice. He was such a good person. Even when things look ugly, or he's worried, he never likes showing it to me… She remembered pretty specifically about the time when Teisel didn't tell her about the money they had owed Loath when they built the first Gesellschaft, and quickly came to the realization that this wasn't always a good thing.

Then it suddenly hit her. She was going to go into space today…

She shivered in anticipation, and opened up her eyes.

"Time to prove I'm not just wasting all that money, hunh Teisel?" Tron said, getting up quickly. She was already fully clothed, having fallen asleep fully dressed.

"I guess so. You're just lucky you don't have ME to deal with up there. You can take that little blonde for SURE!" Teisel said, roaring into one of his trademark laughs.

"Speaking of, let's go out and see what Miss Blondie is up to…" Tron said. "She better not have gone without me!"

xXx

In reality, Roll had been up the entire night, looking over the ready-to-launch rocket to calm her own frayed nerves. Ira, having gotten up a little earlier, had decided to watch Roll make her rounds around the rocket, nervously playing with the fringe on her pants.

Ira wasn't sure she was ready for the commitment she had made to these two, but she was ready to help them in any way she could. She had already had Roll load her digging weapons into the ship, and was currently asking Roll about what she would expect.

Roll, in her customary way of explaining everything, was glad from the distraction from her own thoughts.

"Well… No one has ever broken through the atmosphere before… I'm guessing that because there isn't any air over on the other side, we will be able to float gently through space without having to use any extra fuel. Space is frictionless, so we should be able to glide without anything acting against us! You see…"

Roll continued on her own little diatribe, as Ira slowly lost track of the physics involved in space flight…

She would never be as smart as Roll or Tron were. Kattlelox Island had their own schools, of course, but never an actual building for any kind of formal learning. Mostly people homeschooled their children, and Ira had figured that to be sufficient learning for ANYONE… It wasn't like life in their world was very difficult. Mostly, those kids who didn't end up living on one of the bigger islands ended up spending most of their time farming, or becoming diggers. A lot of things in life didn't revolve around being intellectual, and Ira was glad to know that, in those terms, she was actually pretty smart, comparatively. In addition, she was street wise, and she knew that had to count for something…

But these girls… Where did they keep all of their brains?

"… so everything will be weightless!" Roll said excitedly. Ira smiled politely, inwardly cursing her lack of knowledge. She wondered if Megaman was smart, and if she should work harder at improving herself as well…

At this very moment, the pinnacle of brainlessness in the forms of Osh, Jim, and Bensley came strolling over to the launch pad, sporting their new "_**Good Luck Girls**_!" T-Shirts (Courtesy of Bonne Industries!)

"Time for blast off!" Jim said excitedly, clapping his hands together in a manner that seemed to convey that all their hard work had finally paid off. Ira grinned over at the three. While she may not be as smart as Roll or Tron, she definitely had the edge on these three…

Roll looked at the trio, feeling her stomach drop into her feet… The moment was finally here!

What would she say to him? How would she feel looking at his face again?

She pictured in her mind's eye a devilishly handsome Megaman, turning to face her, framed in moonlight, surrounded by ancient technology.

"_I didn't think I could live another minute up here without you…" _dream Megaman said soothingly. Roll's legs buckled briefly, but then snapped back to the real world upon hearing the sounds of more footsteps approaching from behind.

Tron, Teisel, Barrell, Von Bleucher, Mayor Amelia of Kattlelox Island, and a number of other important political figures Roll wasn't very familiar with came striding up the grass, as the crowds milled around outside the protective perimeter.

"Well I'm so glad I didn't have to wake you up from another nap today, Blondie!" Tron said, smirking at her little joke.

"I think it's best if we get this over with quickly…" Barrell said, looking at the dignitaries and well wishers here to see the three explorers off. "I think Megaman has been trapped up there long enough. Are you sure you want to go through with this?

All three nodded in unison.

"'Well if you're going to do it, then do it' a wise man once said" Bleucher said, nudging Barrell in the ribs.

"Roll, Tron, I just wanted to come out here today to say we are all so very proud of what you've done, and we want you to know that our hearts go out to you to save Megaman…" Mayor Amelia said in a very serious tone. "We'll be waiting down here for you to get back!"

"OK!" Roll said, smiling again and putting her hands behind her back, "Don't worry about us, we'll be back again before you know it!"

xXx

After having placed all the necessary equipment into the rocket, Roll, Tron, and Ira suited up in protective suits specially made by Roll for the occasion, which she said were called "Asbestos Suits". Even Tron was impressed with the design, but upon asking Roll what gave her the idea, Roll just said she had picked it up somewhere before…

"Well… All that leaves is the Gustaff!" Tron said, looking around for the mentioned machinery.

"Where is 42? If he doesn't hurry up, I'll leave him behind!"

Servbot 42, however, was already in motion. Having been designed to be fully capable of handling the Gustaff's controls himself, he marched the mechanical monster onto the launch platform, to the tumultuous applause of the audience, who had begun to grow quite loud and excited for what would soon be happening.

"Servbot 42, reporting for launch!" 42 said, pushing open the hatch and saluting the group, before comically falling out of the Gustaff directly onto Teisel's foot.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!" Teisel said, hopping around, as Roll helped him to his feet, and Tron began to load the Gustaff into the ship.

"There! It's ready!" Roll said, looking up at their prized work. Tron stood next to her, waving out at the crowd.

"Then let's do it!" Ira said dramatically, heading towards the entrance elevator.

"Hold on you guys!" Jim said suddenly.

They all turned around, confused.

"It's bad luck to pilot a ship without a name!" Jim said wisely. "I don't think you can go anywhere until you've given it a proper name!"

Roll looked over at Ira, while Ira looked at Data, who was hopping around impatiently.

"Ummm…"

"The Zuhilfekommen!" Tron said, apparently pleased that she had spoken up first. "It means 'come to the rescue'!"

Roll nodded, smiling. "That sounds right to me!"

xXx

The Kattlelox Reporter smiled and looked at the camera.

"It's a great day out today for what many believe to be the dawning of a new era for mankind. Tron Bonne and Roll Caskett have achieved the unthinkable, and were able to create a ship able to traverse into space, and on this historic day, we watch as these two heroes ascend to the heavens to bring back our noble hero, Megaman Volnutt! As many of you viewers are aware, Megaman Volnutt is the self-same hero who, 3 years ago, began his march to fame on our very own island of Kattlelox, saving us all from almost certain doom! Today, the Bonne and Caskett families have joined forces to… Hold on viewers, I'm just now receiving a special report! Apparently, the space rocket has been named! Astounding news! Mankind's space rocket is to be called the… the… Well what the heck does that say… I… I mean… The rocket is called the Zuhil..fekommen? An interesting choice to say the least! Leave it to the Bonnes to think of a crazy name for another crazy contraption!"

"…. But wait! What's that noise! I think… YES! The shuttle has begun its launch sequence, we will keep taping for all you viewers at home, for this great moment!"

And it was true, as Roll and Tron settled into their seats in the front of the rocket in the shuttle module, down on the launch pad, Professor Barrell had pressed the primer signal for the launching of the rocket. The crowd roared, and listened to the final stages of the rocket's preparation.

"GRAMPS, RELEASE THE DOCKING CLAMPS!" Roll's voice echoed out from the radio speakers set around the launch site.

"Got it!" Barrell replied, pulling on a green lever to his right, and Bleucher shielded his eyes to look up at the rocket.

"Well, here goes nothing…" He mumbled, looking over at Barrell with worry in his eyes. To his surprise, no such worry was mirrored in his oldest friend's eyes.

"Oh don't be such a coward!" Barrell said, sounding like his old self again. "Just think… In a few days, we'll be able to see my baby girl again!" Barrell said, practically skipping over to control module a safe distance away from the main launch pad. "They are going to do it! I can feel it in my bones!"

Jim, Osh and Bensley had joined in at the very front of the crowd, all crossing their fingers and their toes.

Across the island, Apo and Dah sat on a hillock, looking over at the gleaming rocket.

"Deh going to get da blue guy now, eh Apo!"

"Dat ting gonna haft a go really high!"

"Boys!" Shu said impatiently behind them. "Megaman didn't give us these notes and pencils to just go to waste! Back to studying!"

"Awwww!"

Back at the rocket, Roll's hands began to sweat a little inside of her gloves, and decided that it was now or never…

"Tron?"

"Do it!"

"INITIATING COUNTDOWN SEQUENCE!" Roll yelled out, as the crowd began to applaud and cheer.

"T minus 60 seconds!" Tron yelled in the cockpit, as Ira grabbed her arm braces on her chair so tightly, she was surprised she didn't leave dents.

The Quadrum engine below them roared to life, the refractors glowing and spinning at a breathtaking pace.

"Engines optimal! Air supply at the max!" 42 squealed into the intercom, where he was stationed in the maintenance module of the rocket.

"5…4…..3….2….1…" Roll said…

"**BLAST OFF!**" Tron screamed, as she released the throttle and the shuttle began to rumble and shake.

"Come on…. Come on… Hold on! We're taking off!" Roll said triumphantly, attempting to look at the readouts while the shuttle lurched off the ground at a tremendous pace.

The crowd gasped as the rocket pulled away from Terra, leaving a trail of white smoke behind.

"Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!" Tron said ecstatically. "Everything is going great!"

"Altitude on the line! Velocity constant!" Roll yelled over the roar

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Ira screamed in the back, clearly not comprehending anything other than the incredible pressure that seemed to be trying to meld her into her own chair. "This is bbaaaaaadddddd!" she continued, closing her eyes…

The rocket blasted through the clear blue sky, leaving all of the little people on the island behind, growing smaller and smaller below them.

"Wow…" Was all Tron could say, turning her head towards the side port windows, fighting the crushing force of the liftoff to look out over the clear blue ocean that seemed to stretch on forever… "I can see…. All the islands…"

Roll, however, was looking straight ahead, through the beautifully clear shuttle exterior into the stars. "This is unbelieveable!"

Ira attempted to not throw up in the cockpit, knowing that it would come back right into her face, the beauty of the moment clearly lost on her…

And then, it was over, as the shuttle began to break through the atmosphere, the friction against the rocket ceased to be a problem, and suddenly, the rocket pulled into an orbit and there, beneath the three of them, the entire world lay below them

Ira finally opened her eyes, and caught her breath at what she saw

It was truly the most amazing thing mankind had ever seen…

"It's… it's…. the whole world!" Ira said, completely breathless… "Look…"

Tron grasped the controls again, after slightly losing her grip during the initial takeoff. "I knew it would work, I just knew it! We are complete geniuses, you know that? I can't believe we didn't think to bring a camera! I'd LOVE to see the look on Teisel's face if he could see THIS!"

Roll was too astounded to say anything. She never thought, in a thousand years, that one day her travels would bring her up here. It was almost too much to take.

Suddenly, the real reason for their journey suddenly came into view over the horizon.

Elysium…

xXx

"N…NN…NO!" Megaman stuttered, holding out his buster gun, although obviously not truly intending on using it.

Things could not have been any different on the artificial planet. The three rescues had decided to stay within the most interior portion of the planet, the Central Command Center, for as long as it took them to be rescued. But everyday they were becoming more and more sure that help was never going to arrive.

Or if it was, it was going to be too late for Megaman.

The machines that had created the artificial food that the ancient humans had eaten had all been completely destroyed after the final shut down of Elysium's main functions, and the food had dried up about a week previously. Unfortunately for Megaman, this meant that starvation was clearly becoming a large concern. However, the more pressing one, and the one that had finally come to claim him, was that of the cold.

"GG.. Get A..Away!" Megaman said again, pressing his slowly freezing form against the computer panel behind him for support, as he tried to stay standing. His entire body had become blue with cold, and he was shaking violently.

"Megaman! We cannot allow you to do this!" Sera said seriously, as Yuna held out her arms to him in a plea.

"Megaman, please! We don't want you to die! This is ridiculous! It isn't selfish to want to survive! Let us help you!"

"NN…Noth…hh…inng… is going to….s.. me now, Y..Yuna." Megaman chattered. "All I'd do i..is.. take away another …dday from the…w….world… You have to understand!" He finished forcefully.

"No! I don't understand! What do you think this will prove? And what do you think Roll, or Data, or anybody else on Terra would think if they saw you now? They don't want you to kill yourself because you think you are being noble! You think they are going to be happy when they come here and find that you had decided to freeze yourself because you didn't want to have to deal with the responsibility of living?" Yuna said harshly.

Megaman looked at her with an icy glare. "N..No one… ii..is. com..coming Yuna…" Megaman said, in an almost defeated voice.

"This is utter foolishness." Sera said finally, striding across the room to Megaman. "If you wish to shoot, then do so, but you won't stop me. I am overriding the systems and heating this room. We can calculate how much time Terra loses later."

The answering buster shot at her feet stunned both Yuna and Sera, who looked up at Megaman with a totally new look.

Megaman stared hard at Sera, thinking in his slow mind about what she had just said, and how little she seemed to care about Terra…

"It was an innocent comment…" a small voice in his head spoke. "They care about you, they're your friends…"

I can't risk that.

"I can't let you do that Sera." Megaman said coldly, briefly forgetting the cold. " The people down there mean more to me than anything, and I won't let them down now… I'll just have to…"

WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING!

The computer behind Megaman suddenly burst into life, scaring all three of them from the tense moment that Megaman had created.

UNIDENTIFIED SPACECRAFT FROM UNKNOWN ORIGIN APPROACHING FACILITY. DESTINATION VECTOR HAS BEEN DETERMINED AS A LANDING SEQUENCE UPON ELYSIUM'S SURFACE.

ACTIVATION OF ELYSIUM OUTER DEFENSE IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO SYSTEMS SHUT DOWN.

INTERNAL DEFENSE POWER….. MINIMAL….

They all stood in a stunned silence, but didn't for long. Megaman's last stand had completely drained the last of his energy. He collapsed onto the floor, his blue lips parting to say what he had been playing to say…

"Spacecraft…?"

Yuna and Sera rushed over to him

"Megaman! Megaman, wake up! Don't fall asleep, Megaman, or you'll never wake up!" Yuna yelled, as Sera stood over them both, addressing the computer.

"Computer, generate image of spacecraft." Sera said smoothly.

COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED

Once again, a hologram appeared, showing what appeared to be a giant rocketship, complete with the Bonne insignia, and colored like the Flutter, appeared in the middle of the room.

"I… I don't believe it!" Yuna said, shaking Megaman. "Megaman! Look! They've come! They've come for us! It's going to be all right!"

Megaman's eyes opened slowly, and looked at the yellow and red ship in the middle of the room…

Roll….

Tron…

Terra…

They were coming for him…

SPACECRAFT'S ARRIVAL HAS BEEN DEEMED A THREAT BY PRIMARY ANALYSIS. INTERNAL SYSTEM POWER REROUTED TO DEFENSIVE GRID. PRIORITY: DESTRUCTION OF INTRUDERS.'

"INTERRUPT COMMAND! PRIORITY COMMAND REROUTED TO MOTHER UNIT SERA!" Sera yelled, alarmed.

PRIORITY COMMAND REQUEST REJECTED. DUE TO STATE OF EMERGENCY, ALL AUTHORITY REROUTED TO MASTER. AWAITING CONFIRMATION.

"The Master is Dead!" Sera yelled back at the computer. "I am the final authority aboard Elysium now!"

ACCESS DENIED MOTHER UNIT SERA. MASTER GENETIC SEQUENCE DETECTED, PRIORITY COMMAND IS UNABLE TO BE REROUTED IN STATE OF EMERGENCY AS PER ORDINANCE 1105.

"Damn it!" Yuna said, looking down at Megaman, who understood the situation, even in his current state…

"The…The.. M…Maaster… Gave it …t…to me…" Megaman said sporadically.

"We know, Megaman, we know, it will be alright, try to keep moving, keep the blood flowing ok? Stay with us, we are going to need you for this for sure!" Yuna said, trying to smile. "Blowing up Reaverbots is a specialty of yours… isn't it?"

"W..We.. nn..nneed… to…to…" Megaman tried, but started shaking again.

"I know what we need to do." Sera interrupted, "Relinquish your weapons Trigger. We're going out to stop them ourselves…"

WARNING! WARNING! ALL STATIONS ON HIGH ALERT! MOTHER UNITS ATTEMPTING SABOTAGE EFFORTS! MOTHER UNITS SERA AND YUNA, AS WELL AS FIRST CLASS PURIFIER UNIT MEGAMAN TRIGGER ONCE AGAIN, HAVE BEEN DEEMED ABBERRANT! DESTROY ON SIGHT! INITIATING LOCK DOWN!

The door of the Central Command thundered closed, and the large Reaverbot eye in the center began to glow, like a locked door.

"What? How are we going to get out now?" Yuna said, jumping up with Megaman in her arms, who was slowly rising at the thought of getting off of this dreadful dead planet.

"Well, we need to override both this door and the door to the dock. Otherwise that ship will never be able to make it into Elysium." Sera said calmly.

She walked over to the control station, and slammed her fist down hard into the metal. It gave beneath the crushing blow, and she ripped the piece of metal out of her way, and she placed her hand into the circuits.

"A 'manual' override Sera?" Yuna said, with just the slightest hint of a smirk on her face.

Sera, who had apparently reverted back to her old, commanding self at the situation, was not at all pleased with Yuna's attitude. " We need to release Matilda's stasis pod in the docking chamber…. Done…. And now… the door…."

DOCKING BAY DOOR RELEASED. COMMAND ROOM DEACTIVATED TO PREVENT ABBERANT ESCAPE.

Suddenly, all the lights went out, and the panel died beneath Sera's hand, who pulled it out.

"We have been shut down. There is no way I can open this door now to reach the Dock." Sera said in a tone that in every way sounded sharp and biting.

"I… I kno…ow… how…." Megaman said, and attached the Shining Laser onto his right arm.

Roll always did say this was her most dangerous weapon. Let's find out how dangerous….

Megaman pulled the trigger at the door, and watched it begin to melt away.

xXx

"Well how exactly are we supposed to get in there?" Tron said, looking out upon Elysium's surface, without finding any particularly promising entrances becoming apparent.

"Can't we just blow our way through a porthole or something?" Ira said. "It's useful sometimes in ruins, when the doors are rusted shut…"

Roll looked at Ira, and smiled sadly. "We would, but the Zuhilfekommen doesn't have any weapons… Aside from the Gustaff, and we can't open up anything to go out into space, or we will all…"

"Die." Tron said, clearly attempting to put a stop to Ira's idea before it led to any bad decisions. "I know we can get in there, if we just… Wait! There!"

Suddenly, below them, a sliver of light began to show in the huge orb that hung in space below them. What appeared to be a door was slowly coming into existence, and Tron smiled back at Ira. "See? No problem! I knew we would find a way in there if we looked hard enough! 42! Stand by for docking procedures!" Tron yelled into the intercom.

42, however, was in no position to do anything. After leaving the atmosphere, and gravity, Servbot 42 had been floating around through space, his arms and legs flailing about useless in an attempt to control his motion and grab a hold of something to right himself with…

"uhhh… Rodger…." He said pitifully, and his head bumped into the ceiling yet again.

Tron, however, lightly pressed on the controls to the rocket, which responded to her willingly. Tron looked smugly over at the blonde spotter, obviously pleased with herself. If there was one thing that Tron Bonne could do well, it was piloting a ship, whether out in space or back on the ground.

"Let's see if I can thread the needle on this one!"

Roll looked over at the smug pilot. "It's fine, Tron. You're the better pilot, I'm not arguing with you again about this."

Ira rolled her eyes, as Tron lowered the rocket towards the surface, inching towards the expanding doorframe, and sliding through it smoothly, before looking around slowly.

"There! There's Megaman's ship! I don't believe it! We made it!" Roll said, excitedly pointing through the bridge of the ship.

There, sure enough, was the same ship Megaman had taken off in from Calbania Island, still resting in the center of the Dock. Luckily for the three girls, the Dock was big enough to accommodate the Zuhilfekommen.

"I'm glad that we could even land this thing, I was actually pretty worried about it…" Tron said.

The rocket slowly settled down, pointing up towards the high ceiling, as the Dock Bay door began closing high above them.

The Door closed with a tremendous sound, and suddenly, they were engulfed in silence.

The three girls looked at each other, taken a little off guard.

Ira was the first to speak, "Uh… so… what should we do now? Can we… you know… even get out?"

Roll and Tron pondered that for a second, and then Tron smiled and began to unfasten herself from her seat. To their surprise, she didn't float. Apparently, Elysium had some form of gravity.

Tron looked at Roll. "If Megaman came up here, then it has to be at least tolerable out there." She looked at a monitor behind Ira, who slid slightly out of the way so she could get a better view. "All the readings outside say that we can breathe out there, so apparently it has some form of… atmosphere…"

"Amazing…." Roll remarked, looking out the bridge window, taking in their bearings for the first time. She was astounded by the level of sophistication and technological prowess that would be required to create such a large planet. "This is… crazy…"

Tron bounded up suddenly, accidently smashing her head into the ceiling comically, but still maintaining her air of command.

"Right! (ow) Um… Ok! Let's move out! Everyone, let's get out of the rocket and start looking for Megaman! It's obvious that he made it, so he's still here somewhere! 42! Release the Gustaff! I'll pilot that, and you two can cover me. We aren't sure what we will find, but once we find Megaman, he can show us how to get back here!"

"Just in case, I think we should take this…" Roll said, pulling out a small, sophisticated piece of equipment. "It's just an autotracker, we use it sometimes on digs when Megaman needs to find his way back to the surface quickly. We usually use it after he finds the refractor, that way he makes it back right away!"

"Oooh, cool! I need to get one of those!" Ira said, her eyes full of wonder at the little piece of equipment. " I can't tell you how many times I…"

"Come on!" Tron interrupted. "Are you two girls just going to sit around all day playing tea party, or are we going to do what we came here to do!

"Gustaff deployed, Miss Tron!" 42 chirped through the intercom. "Should I, um, wait here?"

"We're coming!" Roll said, unfastening her own chair and crawling towards the rear of the rocket, Ira following behind. Ira, who may have been less prepared for the actual journey, was now feeling much more in her element. They reached the maintenance module just above the engines, where the Gustaff and other equipment were being held, and Ira pointed to a set of black digger's armor sitting on top of a few odds and ends.

"Roll, put that armor on, and I'll use this." She held up an armor set of blue. Roll noted the similarities in the armor to Megaman's own, but was pleased to see that the armor she had made Megaman seemed to be superior in design to both of these sets.

Then she remembered that that may not be a good thing at the moment, and frowned slightly.

"I have a few weapons here too, if you nee…"

"No thank you, Ira! I decided that I would bring a few of my own!" And indeed, Roll donned the black armor, and attached what appeared to be a version of Megaman's own Buster Gun, and something Ira did not recognize.

Tron looked at it speculatively. Then smiled slightly as her eyes glazed over in glee.

"Heh, that's a good idea for a portable weapon. I'll have to see about making one of my own. It uses a wave function, running on a cosine variation right? Glyde never saw THAT coming…"

"Yeah, it was a little difficult to tweak the…"

Ira piped in suddenly, "What are you two talking about?"

Roll looked over at Ira sweetly. "I'm sorry Ira, Tron and I were just talking about this!" She held up the weapon that was attached to her left arm. It looked to be something like a radar disc. "It's called a Parabola Gun! Have you ever been to Nino Island?"

Ira shook her head.

Roll smiled, "That's ok. Basically, all it does is fire out high frequency waves that distort electrical currents of whatever it hits. It isn't particularly lethal on its own to people, but it can have a wide range of effects, because it completely distorts the electrical signals in the brain, basically rendering you completely incapable of fighting!"

Tron snorted comically. "For some simple creatures, getting hit with this makes you completely lose your mind, and you may end up hurting yourself! I wonder how Glyde is doing these days?" She laughed.

Ira wasn't sure she understood. "But why bring it? I'm pretty sure we aren't going to be finding any kind of people up here…?"

"You're right, but this gun is REALLY lethal to machines. If you short circuit a Reaverbot, it may destroy itself, or even start attacking its own kind!" Roll said, looking at the little device. "It's isn't really upgraded fully, but I'm pretty sure it will do the trick!"

"Well come on then, let's go!" Tron said, reaching for the escape hatch.

They all crowded around, looking at the door.

"One... Two… THREE!" Tron said as she bashed open the door and they jumped outside.

They were quite prepared for what greeted them.

"Holy cow!" Ira said, shivering at the other two. "It's gotta be twenty below out here!"

Roll looked at Tron, who had begun to shake in the cold, as she wasn't wearing any sort of armor. "Get into the Gustaff, Tron, we don't want you to turn into a popsicle!"

Tron nodded and got into the Gustaff, as Servbot 42 popped his head out onto the top. "Hi Miss Roll! Miss Ira!"

Roll smiled in a preoccupied way, as the Gustaff suddenly came to life and looked right at her. It was almost as though she could see Tron's face echoed through the Gustaff's metal exterior.

If it was this cold… Then Megaman…

"We need to hurry…" Roll said, feeling her heart strumming even through the armor.

xXx

"This way! Hurry!" Yuna yelled, taking the lead as a group of Fingerii appeared, shooting out a barrage of yellow energy balls at the three potential escapees.

Megaman's frozen fingers could barely squeeze the trigger of the Shining Laser, which collided into the first Reaverbot, and shot right through him into the other three behind. Zenny blasted off in every direction as Yuna yanked him and Sera forward, trying to get them to run. "We don't have much time! We can't stop the Reaverbots from attacking!"

Sera looked at Yuna. "I believe that we may require more firepower…"

Sera closed her eyes, focusing her energy. Megaman watched as, much like it had happened before, Sera seemed to be giving off a massive amount of light and energy, as many colored lights danced around the dark hallway, and there, once again, stood Sera in her battle form. Megaman numbly remembered the fight within the library, and was glad to know that this time she wouldn't be directing those powers at him.

"Let us proceed." Sera said, who seemed to have completely lost any of her previous impatience or emotion.

A large group of Gorbesh began to march out from a door to their right, and Sera let out a torrent of familiar energy at them, blowing them back into the room they came from.

"Move!" Sera yelled commandingly, and Yuna, helping Megaman to walk, followed along behind, yelling to Sera

"We need to get to the Docking Bay! The quickest way to get there is through the Defense Area from here!"

"Affirmative. This will not be easy."


	8. Chapter 7 Run! Part I Horrifying Reunion

**I don't own any character, blah blah blah.**

**So… I've been getting a lot of pm's and reviews talking about the continuity. Obviously, this means I'm doing at least well enough that it is getting people to argue and think about it, which makes me smile. **

**That being said, this story will focus on the Legends, X, and Classic series, and while many of you have asked why ZX and Zero were not included… Well…**

**You think I explained everything in the first couple chapters with "The Legacy of Elysium"? Please. Just keep reading.**

**Now having said THAT, I won't be including ZX in my storyline. Because it's dumb. Sorry. I know I'm gonna get flamed by people who love ZX, but I've honestly read about everything that happens in those games, what the apparent continuity is, and whatever, and I'm just gonna say that it's just some sort of alternate Universe like Battle Net. And yeah, whatever, "The box art said Elysium on it, so it must be at such and such time, during the planning phase of Elysium, and the world had recovered, and awesome metal plates give super special awesome powers that kinda relate to Megaman characters, so you are made to assume that this is somehow a part of the Megaman series!"**

**No.**

**After having immersed myself in Zero, however, I think that it follows closely ENOUGH that it was worth considering, even though it is really based on an alternate x6 ending, that fans try to justify by, really, making crap up.**

**Well now I'm making crap up. Sue me haha**

**By the way, this isn't flaming anybody, I'm actually really happy that people are taking the story literally, as a translation of the canon, so keep up the reviews. You may see elements of Zero coming up. It actually solved a problem I was going to have later…Hmmmm….**

**Enough rambling…A shorter chapter this time, as this will add to the drama, I'm sure… hahaha**

CHAPTER 7:

RUN!

PART I: HORRIFYING REUNION

"Let's hurry, I didn't exactly bring a winter jacket on this little escapade…" Ira said, crossing her arms across her chest a shivering to prove the point.

All three girls began to walk (Or in Tron's case, stomp) around the edge of the rocket, to take a good look at the room that they found themselves in.

"This is really amazing." Roll said with an awed expression. "I guess it's really just the SIZE of this place that's amazing. It would have taken so long to build!"

Tron turned the Gustaff towards the Spotter. "We don't have time for that now. We need to find Megaman and get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps anyway. It seems so… dead… I don't like this."

Ira, seeming more inclined to move than the other two, spoke up. "Ok, Roll, you go left, and Tron, you go right. See if we can find a door or something that will take us to… Well… I don't really know where Megaman would be… Let's just find some way out of here, and start searching."

Roll nodded, and headed to the left, while Tron nodded, then remembering that no one could see her nod inside of the Gustaff, stomped off to the right, muttering "Who put HER in charge?"

Roll made her way over in the darkness, until she came across a small platform. In the middle, there appeared to be a second platform where what looked like something lowered down on top of it, like some form of advanced elevator. She looked up at the ceiling, seeing nothing but darkness above her. She looked around for some way to find out how to activate what she was standing on, and looking to her right, caught sight of a large orange box, that appeared to be slightly ajar. She walked over to it, and upon opening it, found it to be empty.

Hope kindled slightly in Roll's heart. She knew that the person who was most likely to clean out a place like this, taking out random objects and picking a place dry, would be none other than Megaman Volnutt. "So he had to have been here before", she thought.

Roll looked up, glancing around the room for some other sign of his passing, but didn't see anything peculiar or unique. She was starting to lose hope again, when Ira's voice came floating over from her right.

"Roll, come over here and take a look at this…"

Roll followed the sound of her voice, and came upon Ira looking at something against the wall.

"It looks like a… diamond or something…" Ira said, unsure.

In fact, what looked large a large, purple and green diamond, floating just above the floor and revolving, came into view through the shadows in the Docking Bay. Roll had a slight twinge in her memory.

"I've seen this before…" Roll said slowly, feeling the fear in her heart. "This thing is really similar to the thing I found on Forbidden Island with Megaman. That time, it held two Ancients, one of them a young girl and an older man…"

Remembering that it was because of those two Ancients that they were even in this position in the FIRST place, Roll tightened her fists angrily.

"Let's just leave it alone, we don't want to wake up anything worse…"

Ira nodded solemnly, and Roll turned her back on the large diamond. As much as she wanted to learn more about Megaman, and what he must have been like in the past, every time she came across something that was somehow involved with the Ancients, it turned out to either want to kill everything or take over the world.

With a slight pang, she finally realized that she was actually here, on Elysium. This is where everything had happened, when Megaman wasn't…. Megaman… It was a very strange feeling.

Tron was also feeling a bit on edge from this place. While the Gustaff's on-board tracking system had determined that this place was safe, in a relative sense, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that things on this forgotten planet were lurking just out of sight. She shivered in the padded seat, and looked above her to 42, who was operating the new Overdrive systems on the Gustaff.

"42, make sure to keep those boosters ready. Ever since we fought Megaman in the Saul Kada ruins, I knew that we would need vertical motion to fight most effectively, and I think that we are in for a fight before the day is through…"

"Yes Miss Tron!" 42 called down to her. "Ummm… Miss Tron? Where do you suppose the blue fellow is? How can we find him?"

Tron was suddenly brought back to the present, where she remembered that given the current state of affairs up on this horrible planet, a person couldn't survive for long. It was too cold…

…What if he?

"No, he's going to be alright, he has to be!" Tron said to herself in a low voice, completely ignoring 42's query. Tron powered the Gustaff forward, and came across a platform, where there appeared to be some form of elevator. "It looks like an elevator in a ruin!" Tron thought to herself excitedly.

"Ira! Roll! I've found a way out!" Tron's amplified voice boomed over at them across the shadows on the other end of the room. Ira, who was watching Roll carefully, let her question about the Ancients die on her lips. She was curious what all the fuss had been about a year ago, and whether or not Roll and Megaman had actually FOUND the Mother Lode.

Ira and Roll spared one last look at the large diamond, and then headed back towards the way they had come. They found Tron waiting for them in front of a large elevator, with Data dancing nearby.

"EE EEEE!" Data squealed, gesturing towards the elevator, and all three girls stepped onto the large platform, while Ira went to the elevator terminal to read what it said.

"I… I can't make out what this says… It's in some sort of writing, but I can't read it."

"Just push the button, you big baby. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Teisel always says!" Tron said, putting on a false voice full of bravado, thanking her lucky stars they couldn't see how pale she was becoming at the thought of this place swallowing them whole.

Ira pushed the button, and the elevator began to move up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Upon stopping, the group found themselves surrounded by an immense silence. Their feet echoed as they began to walk down the halls…

"I….I think we may be in trouble…" Ira said nervously, knowing full well what it meant when nothing came out to bite you in a ruin.

… A Death Trap….

"Actually, from the looks of things, it doesn't look like there's anything left here to attack us…" Roll said, still nervously gripping the inside of her buster gun tightly, waiting for the world to start crashing in upon them.

Tron, who was becoming more and more reassured by the minute that this place had died in some long forgotten past, rolled her eyes and spoke into the intercom. "Well, it's obvious I'm working with a bunch of rookies here. See? Look!" Tron shot of a few machine gun rounds from the Gustaff, peppering the walls and creating a cacophony of noise, which echoed down the corridors.

Ira and Roll, having crouched down and covered their ears in surprise, stood back up.

"Tron! What were you thinking!" Roll berated, losing her cool at the hubristic pirate, "We don't know what's up here, we may…"

"SYSTEM'S DETECT AGGRESSIVE FORCE BEING APPLIED IN HALLWAY 1123! COMMENCE ATTACK!" A voice from nowhere boomed down at the group, causing all three girls to flinch.

"TRON!" Ira and Roll fumed, looking at Tron in the Gustaff with their fists clenched and their eyes flashing dangerously.

"I… I'm…" Tron started, but was suddenly accosted by a troop of Zakobons, which appeared to shoot out of the wall. All of the Zakobons began firing out torrents of fireballs at the group.

"Get behind me!" Tron yelled at the other two, brandishing her shield. "I was just starting to get bored anyway, I was starting to think Megaman had taken them all out for us!" Tron laughed her Bonne laugh. "Let's do it!"

She charged the Gustaff into the group of Zakobons, scattering them like pins in a bowling alley.

Ira began charging behind, firing her own buster cannon at the scattered Zakobons as they tried to desperately right themselves from off the ground. Roll, after hesitating for a split second, fired off her own buster, yelling after Ira

"We need to get out of this hallway! They are going to surround us!"

"This way!" Tron yelled at them, looking back at the two and seeing a group of Harin crawling along the ceiling, dropping bombs in torrents to keep them from escaping. Tron barreled through the remaining Zakobons, clearing a path for the two girls, who ran behind her, using the Gustaff as a battering ram. "That's what happens when you mess with Tron Bonne!" Tron yelled triumphantly, pumping her fist into the air as she let loose a torrent of flame from her arm cannon, engulfing the nearest Zakobon in flame, which them proceeded to explode, showering zenny along the hallway. "We can take these Reaverbots, no problem!" Tron called to the other two.

Ira shook her head frantically. "We aren't here to fight, Tron! We need to find Megaman and get out of here!"

Roll nodded her head and lead the charge towards the door at the end of the corridor, "She's right, Tron! We can't take the risk that one of us gets seriously hurt! We don't exactly have anything to help someone in trouble, we didn't build any sort of medical bay in the rocket! This is a rescue, not a brawl!"

Tron pouted comically in the Gustaff, floating along behind the Spotter and the Digger, "I always knew you were a chicken, Blondie!"

Roll stopped and turned on the spot, causing Tron to slam on her controls to keep her from charging right into Roll, who had a truly dangerous gleam in her eyes, that made Tron blanch a little in her seat.

"I'M SICK OF YOU TELLING ME I'M A COWARD TRON! I'M HERE TO SAVE MEGAMAN, NOT GO ON A TOTALLY POINTLESS MISSION TO PROVE HOW AMAZING MY MACHINES ARE! I'M READY TO FIGHT AND DIE FOR THIS, AND NO ONE IS GONNA STOP ME OR SAY OTHERWISE, UNDERSTAND!"

"Please! All you do is stand there and wait for other people to do your dirty work for you, you are just a no good talentless hack who relies on a powerful boy-toy to do your job for you!"

"Are you kidding me! You in your…"

Ira tuned out of the conversation, staring down the hallway at the group of Reaverbots closing in for the kill.

"Tron? Roll?"

"…second rate engine makes you something special? What do you think…"

"Girls?" Ira yelled, waving frantically.

"…and what exactly is that metal plate on your crotch, a chastity belt? What kinda weirdo…"

"CAN THIS WAIT FIVE MINUTES? RUN! NOW!" Ira screamed, jamming her hand into the door control, and shoving Roll into the next room, as Tron came to her senses and tromped in behind them, with the Reaverbots nicking at their heels. A pair of Kuruguru charged the door, seeing the girls attempting to shut it.

"Stand back!" Tron yelled, as she blasted the door with a torrent of machine gun fire, causing the door to slam shut on top of the first Kuruguru, crushing it, sending sparks and flame out from underneath the door, as Roll and Ira dived out of the way.

Roll stood back up, fuming at the hulking machine, who's back was turned to her, although she screamed at it anyway.

"SEE? This is what all your bravado does! Gets us all into trouble! We need to find Megaman and get out of here!"

A huge echoing crash on the door accompanied her words, putting emphasis on the point.

"We have more pressing issues!" Ira said, looking up above them.

They all turned and saw a squadron of Barukatche Butterflies swarming down upon them, raining fire.

"ahhh!" Roll and Tron dived in opposite directions, as Tron shielded herself from the flame.

Ira rolled on the floor, barely missing the flaming torrents from above, as they led her onto a grid on the floor. The fire stopped as the Barukatche flapped its wings harder, gaining altitude. Ira got up, feeling that she had just gotten lucky, when the floor beneath her suddenly began to glow, and she understood; it had been leading her into a trap!

"The floors electr….AHHHHHH!" Ira screamed as the floor shot torrents of electricity into her metal boots, causing her to stand rooted to the spot, screaming in pain.

"IRA!" Roll yelled, as she shot her buster into the crowd of Butterflies, causing them to cascade into themselves like dominos, blowing up a couple in the process. She stood along the edge of the grid, grimacing in horror as Ira screamed in the trap.

"Hold on, Ira!" Roll yelled, looking at Tron, who was batting off the Barukatche like knats around a fire.

Roll took a few steps back, and then barreled towards Ira, jumping just before the electrified grid, flying tackling Ira off of the grid, breaking her electrified grip on the floor. They rolled together, getting slightly electrocuted before rolling off completely. Ira's armor smoked slightly, and her eyes were closed tightly in pain, breathing heavily. Roll got up, shaking herself slightly to free up her muscles. Tron defended the two girls, releasing a torrent of Bonne Bombs, destroying the rest of the Butterflies in midair.

Tron looked down at Roll, who was holding Ira on the ground.

"Ira! Ira! Are you ok?" Roll said worriedly.

"…Yeah… Yeah, I'm good… But that wasn't fun…" Ira said, sitting up and looking over at the power grid.

Roll let out a sigh of relief, but Tron wasn't so quick to be relieved. "I think you are right, Roll… I'm thinking we need to get out of here before something really bad happens…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"It's time to go, Megaman." Yuna said, looking at Megaman frantically, who had taken a turn for the worse. Megaman, who had become so cold, was unable to answer, just shivering slightly, which worried Yuna even more. "His body is shutting down, Sera! We need to find them now and get off of Elysium!"

"Agreed." Sera said, with a twinge of fear in her eyes. She didn't understand the feeling, but she knew that she was worried about Trigger. She didn't want anything to happen to him, although her face remained impassive. "Assuming that they follow the same path that Trigger himself had taken, their most probable route would be through the defense area, but most likely they won't be able to find their way through without some form of spotting…"

Yuna nodded, remembering Megaman's own trouble navigating the Defense Area, and knew what had to be done. "We need to find them and get them out before the Reaverbots catch up to them!"

"SYSTEM'S DETECT AGGRESSIVE FORCE BEING APPLIED IN HALLWAY 1123! COMMENCE ATTACK!"

Sera looked over at Megaman, hunched on the floor with his eyes closed. "It appears my hypothesis was correct. Trigger, we will get you out shortly."

Yuna looked forwards towards the nearest door, finding the way barred by a large Gabunrii. "Sera… I can't carry him…You will have to…"

"Negative, I cannot carry Trigger and fight off the defensive system." Sera said matter-of-factly.

Yuna looked at Megaman, and approached him slowly, holding him against her and looking at him in the side hug. "Megaman… I need to take your weapons…"

Megaman slowly nodded his head, releasing the Buster Gun, which clattered on the floor, and the Shining Laser disconnected from his right arm, and Yuna caught it before it hit the floor.

"It's going to be alright, I promise…" Yuna looked at Sera, who nodded and lifted the frozen figure from the floor, and held him in her arms. Yuna, while this was happening, held the blue buster in her hand, studying its design.

"Alright then!" Yuna put the weapons on, and approached the Reaverbot with her arms raised. The Gabunrii, seeing this, began to fire off its limbs at her, attempting to stop her from proceeding. The answering laser through his torso blew him to pieces, clearing the way for the last three Ancients to proceed through the door.

"This is the quickest way to the defense area." Yuna said to Megaman, trying to keep him from going unconscious. "Try to stay awake, and keep moving." They flew down the corridors, with Yuna running in the lead, bearing down on the Reaverbots that came in their way. Even to Megaman, who was very close to freezing to death, he saw Yuna was incredibly gifted at blowing up Reaverbots. She flipped and spun around the Reaverbots like a ballerina on stage, firing off the buster and Shining Laser indiscriminately. Sera, using her left arm to hold Megaman, while her right fired out shockwaves of energy behind them, collapsing the walls in so that they could not be followed by Reaverbots attempting to flank them.

After bringing down a third doorway, Sera looked down at the figure in her arms.

"It is a strange fate how you and I, who were once so morbid of enemies, now fight the very system I was trying to protect. Fate does seem to have a way of catching up to those who least expect it. But it seems to be true, that facts do not cease to exist just because they are ignored. I have you to thank for showing me a way out of this….prison…. Perhaps if I can return the favor, we will be even. But you have to maintain function until that time, agreed?"

Megaman smiled weakly.

"This way Sera! Come on!" Yuna said, unsmilingly, as she danced her dangerous ballet through a crowd of Zakobons. "They must be close…"

They blew into the next room, and finally, at long last, found what they were looking for…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tron turned the Gustaff sharply at the sound of explosions coming from the other side of the door on the far side of the electric trap room. Roll and Ira stood up, readying their weapons for what they assumed would be another assault of Reaverbots.

The door blasted open, flying into the platform in the center of the room, causing the electric grid to malfunction and shut down. Yuna and Sera burst into the room, with Reaverbot fireballs chasing them.

Roll and Ira trained their guns on Yuna, who pointed her guns back at the two armored girls and the Gustaff, who had begun to advance on the large Mother Unit.

The moment was tense as the smoke filled the room.

"That… That looked like the Ancients from Forbidden Island…" Roll said, charging her blaster. "They started this whole thing by making us get the Mother Lode Keys!"

"Lower your weapons immediately or face destruction!" Sera said powerfully, as Megaman's eyes widened at the sound of the voice he had just heard…

It couldn't be!

"Yeah, right. That's gonna happen!" Tron said laughingly. "You blew up the Sulphur Bottom!"

Yuna cried out. "Wait! Wait! Don't shoot, please! We are on your side!"

Ira loosened her finger on the trigger, attempting to peer through the smoke.

"Why should we believe you?"

"….rrr..rrooolll…" Megaman croaked out, barely whispering. Yet somehow, the entire room heard the voice, and there was a moment of complete and absolute stunned silence.

Roll's weapons clattered to the floor, as the dust cleared, and there, suspended in the large Ancient's arms, was a familiar blue clad figure.

Tron, without thinking, jumped out of the Gustaff so fast a witness would have sworn she was on fire, blowing through the hatch and attempting to jump off the Gustaff, while Roll, completely oblivious to the immediate danger of the two Ancients, and the pounding Reaverbots through the door, ran to the large figure with her eyes brimming with tears.

"MEGAMAN!"

"No! Roll, please, wait just a moment!" Yuna stepped in front of her, and was bowled over, but managed to stop Roll all the same.

"You… You know my name?" Roll said, stunned. Tron dashed past Yuna, towards Megaman, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"What have you done to him! What did you do! Tell me he's alright, tell me, or so help me…!" Tron left the threat hanging, as she looked at the large Ancient holding Megaman, and at Megaman himself, who appeared to be struggling weakly.

Ira stood, completely baffled by the situation, but understood that something was wrong with Megaman.

"What's happened to him?" Ira said, truly worried.

Sera had chosen to ignore Roll's almost incoherent tears and Tron's tirade, and chose to respond to Ira. "We do not have time to explain now; hurry, we must make it off of Elysium now, before we are trapped here! You have brought a vessel, is it still within the Docking Bay?"

Roll tried to keep up, "Yes… But Megaman?" Her dreams of running into Megaman's arms and his sweet little smile upon seeing her again were dying around her. Was he going to be alright?

"Megaman is in a state of hypothermia, and has been without food for almost a week…" Yuna started, clearly looking startled by the complete lack of affect towards their _own_ situation. "We need to hurry back to your shuttle, we can explain while we run! The first line of defense may have been neutralized, but we may be in trouble here if we stand around talking!"

Tron realized that she was suddenly outside of the Gustaff, and felt the cold envelope her. "Hypothermia… He's freezing to death! We need to go, now!"

Yuna rolled her eyes, while Ira shot panicked glances at the doorframe, which had begun to buckle in on itself.

"Put Megaman in the Gustaff! It's warm in there!" Tron continued.

"EEEE EEEE!" Data screamed, as the door was crushed onto the ground, and a gigantic form appeared in the doorway.

A pack of gigantic wolves appeared in the destroyed doorway, and pawed at the ground, about to strike!

"No time! RUN!" Ira screamed, as she shot off a few rounds at the hulking wolf-like Reaverbots, who seemed to be barely affected.

"Elite Karumuna Bash!" Sera yelled, as she shot out a wall of force, attempting to hold them back while Tron got back into the Gustaff and everyone ran towards the third and final door of the room.

"We…Need…To go…Back…" Roll panted as they all ran at breakneck speed down the narrow hallway. "Our ship is that way!"

"We cannot proceed in that direction, they will have activated the defensive grid, any attempt to travel down the main paths towards the Dock will be met by a crushing gravitational force! We would all be destroyed!" Sera said, attempting to keep Roll from running the other way. However, that was not necessary, as the Karumuna Bash leaped around the corner, sending sparks flying, and the entire hallway was filled with their howls.

"Go GO GO GO!" Tron yelled, screaming as the first Karumuna Bash pounced onto her back, swiping its claws, attempting to rip the Gustaff to pieces. It was blown back by a barrage of Buster fire from Yuna and Roll, who had turned around to help, and Tron screamed up at 42, who was firing the machine turret back at the advancing Wolves.

"ACTIVATE THE OVERDRIVE SYSTEM!"

"Rodger!" 42 smiled, and pressed a button. The Gustaff suddenly shifted, and on its back a large jet appeared, blasting the machine forward, and Tron grabbed both Yuna and Roll before they were completely overtaken by the ravenous hounds.

"Ughf!" Roll and Yuna were sent rocketing back, as Sera grabbed Ira and flew towards the end of the Hallway.

"Take this!" Ira called back, and threw out a Grand Grenade of her own design that she had thought of when seeing Megaman in action back on Kattlelox Island. Unfortunately, she had not designed it very well, and it ended up blowing up half the hallway, destroying the first two Karumuna Bash, but also causing a relentless torrent of fire to come bursting out behind them, and the hallway began to collapse from the shockwave…

"Oops!" Ira said, as Tron and Sera attempted to rocket forward, with Data holding on to the top of the Gustaff's head for dear life.

"Sera! The only way back to the dock from here is through the…"

"I am aware Yuna!" Sera interrupted.

"Where? Through where?" Roll yelled, trying to make sense of things through the explosions.

"We will have to pass through Alpha Reaverbot Manufacturing!" Yuna called across to Roll through the howling of the wind, as Tron flew down the corridor, flying her prized machine through a maze of destruction and explosions as Reaverbots began to pour out from everywhere.

"…Manufacturing? Where they are MADE?" Tron yelled, furious at this turn of luck. "Well that figures. OBVIOUSLY we couldn't take the nice, easy route! And I'm sure you are going to tell me that there's an army of Reaverbots waiting for us inside!"

"No." Sera said unflinchingly. "Only one. When Elysium was shut down by Trigger…"

"Who?" Ira said, clearly losing track of the conversation after having started to open fire on the advancing Reaverbots again.

"…Megaman…. When Megaman fought…. The System…. He shut this whole planet down! The Reaverbot manufacture has been suspended, but the primary unit is still functioning! If we can escape past it, maybe we can escape Elysium without being destroyed!"

Sera didn't look as optimistic as Yuna. "We may not be so lucky, its far more advanced than any previous models…"

Roll felt fear grip her heart again. She almost didn't want to ask, as they came upon a massive door in front of them, and Sera stopped to activate it.

"What… What is it?"

Sera looked back seriously at them all.

"The Omega Rocket-Train Guynie Toren."


	9. Chapter 7 Run! Part II 42's Finest Hour!

**Capcom is awesome, they own everything that is cool and wonderful under the sun.**

**Except this story. Nyah Nyah.**

**But if they wanna own it, just go right on ahead and call me, I can be bought…**

**Before I actually write this, I thought it was kind of odd, but I received a slew of PM's and stuff asking about what the Guynie Toren is. One thought it came from Megaman Zero. Well, for those of you who haven't played Legends, it's one of the bosses you fight in the sub-ruins on Kattlelox Island. I think it was best described by one of my friends on Megaman Legends Universe as "A big moving brick".**

**Hilarious**

**With that said…**

CHAPTER 7:

RUN!

PART II: Servbot 42's Finest Hour

"The… The what?" Ira said distractedly, looking over her shoulder as the rumble of the Karumuna Bash drove everything else from her mind.

"The Guynie Toren. It was originally designed to be a Reaverbot transport system on Terra, moving small Reaverbots into areas and distributing the forces to protect important artifacts or power supplies, like your refractors." Yuna explained, watching the door slowly open in front of them.

"Go on ahead, we cannot proceed further if these Reaverbots alert the units ahead. I will hold them off long enough to close this door." Sera said emotionlessly.

"No! Sera, we need you!" Yuna cried out, as the Wolves came tearing down the hallway towards them, having finally caught up.

"I cannot proceed through the door at this time, I am too large. Hurry through, I will follow shortly…" Sera said, unceremoniously dumping Megaman's limp form into the Gustaff's arms, before speeding off directly at the group of Reaverbots.

They stood and watched for a few seconds more, before Roll pulled them out of their reverie; "Come on! We need to keep moving!"

As the door continued to slowly open, Yuna, Ira, and Roll ran through the door into a massive room, with Tron's Gustaff barely squeezing through, still clutching Megaman in its arms.

The sounds of the battle were dulled somewhat, partly from what sounded like Sera battling them back down the corridor, but mostly from the incredible size of the room into which they found themselves. As all of the lights were apparently malfunctioning, the room had been swallowed up by a blackness that was just as enormous.

The door slid slowly closed behind them, and the light that had come through the corridor was now cut off, and the small group became totally blind.

Despite herself, Roll whispered softly "Um, where are we?"

Yuna whispered back, to the dismay of the group. "The Reaverbot Assembly Room. Sera has stayed back to distract those Reaverbots because if the System detects any fighting or malfunctioning in this room, it was cause a complete lockdown and we may not be able to get off of Elysium."

"Great…" Ira said nervously.

Tron sat on edge in the Gustaff, wondering whether or not she should speak, as the Gustaff's speaker system would surely echo loudly in this black room, and she didn't want to cause any more trouble, especially now that she literally held Megaman's life in her hands.

"This is ridiculous! This is nothing like what I had in mind when we decided to come to the rescue! A dying world, getting shot at, and Megaman almost…."

She blinked away a few tears, willing herself not to think about how bad of a condition Megaman may be in now. She was brought back to the reality of the situation by the girl in green pigtails, who she still didn't trust in the slightest.

"Let's go… as long as we remain undetected, we should be fine. Sera will follow up along behind us, to give us enough time to make it to the Dock and retrieve Matilda's stasis pod.

Her footsteps echoed as she walked into the blackness, calling out behind her "If you don't mind, I think it might be easier if someone shines a light…?"

Tron was happy to oblige, activating her digging lights on the Gustaff, and shining them out onto a sight that she knew would probably give her nightmares and make her think twice about ever going down into a ruin again!

Hundreds upon thousands of Reaverbots lined the walls, or hung in place in various stages of construction, all of which lacking the spark of life that she usually saw in them during her various adventures down in the dungeons of Terra, but still with all the same menace.

This was amazing! She had never really considered the amount of work involved in the creation of Reaverbots before, and it was strangely exciting to see the assembly of parts required. As they began to walk down the main aisle that was largely spare metal free, she was surprised to feel that while the situation was obviously dire, she was feeling an incredible urge to look at the Reaverbots and decipher what made them tick. She always was more interested in the artificial intelligence aspect of engineering, finding the idea of creating machines that could think for themselves as a much more exciting goal to her mechanical genius then the more practical approach her fellow genius Roll seemed to practice.

While Tron considered these things, Roll had not moved from her position since escaping the corridor. The green-haired girl's last words echoed in her mind strangely, still not fully coming to comprehension. "M….Matilda's… Stasis… Pod? Do you mean to say…. My mother?"

Yuna stopped walking and turned around, having just now noticed their lack of urgency. "Yes, Roll, your mother. Now can we please…"

"Look lady, we really appreciate the help. We really do. But… Just who the heck are you, and what are you doing up here?" Ira said rather bluntly, filling in the blanks that the other two girls had been unable to ask since their arrival.

Yuna sighed desperately. "Come on, I'll explain while we move through this room. We need to get out of here. Can you at least trust me with that?"

Roll nodded slowly, as she came back to reality full force… Megaman was very close to death… Her mother was…. Alive…. It was like the entire world had flipped upside down since she arrived here.

"Please, tell us. I don't understand what's going on right now."

Yuna began to explain, whispering in a low voice while walking around the stray chunks of scrap metal that seemed to litter the floor indiscriminately.

"You were right when you first saw us, Roll. We are, in fact, what you call Ancients. It's a really long story, but I can give you the short version. My name is Yuna and I am… well… much older than you would guess. Sera and I, and this planet that you are standing on, have been around for thousands of years. In fact, we've been around since before mankind as you know it."

"How is that possible? Where did you come from, and why did you disappear?" Ira said, becoming interested in the conversation for the first time. As a digger, she knew full well that there were mysteries far beyond the grasp of most people, but while she may not have the "whiz-kid" smarts of Roll and Tron, she seemed to grasp the unreal a little bit quicker than they did.

Yuna seemed to pause, as though she was considering her answer before speaking. "I can only really say right now that we are a sort of… middle ground… I guess you could call it. A bridge between what you are now, and the world that you see today… and what it was before."

"So you are… People? Humans?" Ira asked in an incredulous whisper.

"No… In more ways we are like these…" She gestured out at the Reaverbots that they were surrounded by. "We are… I guess you could say… biological Reaverbots… We can think and act for ourselves, and even grasp abstract concepts."

Tron was floored by this, while Roll listened intently, not wanting to interrupt. Tron, however, being unable to hold back any sort of emotional outburst, finally found her own silence to be irritating enough that she gestured for 42 to take over the controls, while she popped her own head out of the hatch to ask, "You mean you are a Reaverbot that can think on its own? But that's impossible! Even my Servbots are incapable of abstract thought! They are advanced machines, but once you deviate them to their core programming, they are basically just programmed conditioned automatons! Based almost solely on classical or operant conditioning! Responding to a stimulus is not the same as THINKING! What you are describing is some sort of machine that can… Dream, create… I don't believe it!" Tron said finally, crossing her arms resolutely as the Gustaff tromped along underneath her.

Yuna smiled, and continued, "You don't have to believe it, but it's true. You could say that, for a period of time on Terra, machines and man lived together side by side…"

"How could that be? We don't have any record, no evidence that has ever shown some sort of…"

"No evidence?" Yuna giggled slightly, but then stopped suddenly as a slight sound of metal bumping against metal was heard over to their right, which caused them all to stop and listen. When nothing happened, they continued onward, with Yuna growing more and more anxious.

"There was evidence everywhere, the ruins made that pretty obvious. While you assumed that it was just your "Ancient" human's doing it, we had been there long before, creating the world that you know today… While you may have reached the limit of your understanding of your history, it doesn't really matter. Reaverbots were just one form of a continuing evolution of mechanical knowledge. In fact, truly ancient records indicated that Reaverbots were actually created from the designs of what were called "Mechanoloids", which were really just construction robots that were redesigned to fight intruders… Many very old records indicate that powerful lifeforms used these mechanoloids, then Reaverbots, to guard their liars. It is all very fascinating, but that is really here nor there. To answer your question, however, we never really disappeared; we merely travelled up here, to this place. We call it "Elysium".

Roll nodded her head. "I heard… my mother… say that that was what the second moon was actually called…um… didn't you say we needed to… go get her… or something? Where is she? Is she ok? Or is she…"

Roll looked at Megaman in the arms of the Gustaff, and stopped for a second to walk alongside of the machine, to gaze down at the freezing blue figure. She brushed back his hair with her gloved hand, and Tron, seeing this, kicked her foot into the controls, knocking 42 aside and lurching the Gustaff out of her reach.

Yuna, rolling her eyes, answered Roll's incomplete question. "No, Roll, she's fine. We put her into a stasis field so she wouldn't get cold, and so I could get her back to you safely…"

Finding it odd that this stranger would know so much about her, Roll asked, "How did you know I was even looking for her?"

Yuna responded, to Roll's great astonishment, with "Well, Roll, for the past 16 years, I've been quite…. Close…. With your mother."

"You mean… she's been here… with you? This whole time? And on Terra?" Roll said, completely taken aback.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Yuna said cryptically. "I know her mind better than anyone, I would expect, and I know just how fond of you she really is…"

Ira looked at Roll's face, which was numb with shock. "This is really kinda weird…" Ira said thoughtfully. Roll's mother living on the moon, robots that could think for themselves… When would it end?

Roll whispered quietly, "If you did this for my mother, why is Megaman so cold? Couldn't you have saved him too?"

It was obvious to all three girls and Data that this question made Yuna look very uncomfortable.

"We tried… But Megaman was reluctant to say the least…"

"Why?" Tron asked sharply, a little louder than she had intended, and she covered her mouth with her hands as Ira shot her a dirty look, which she repaid with a rude hand gesture.

It didn't seem like Megaman not to trust in the goodness of people. It was one of his many qualities that made her gag slightly, and yet drew her to him like a moth to a flame. It was obvious that Megaman had shared in her suspicions of these strange red eyed girls.

"… I… This really isn't the right place for that story right now…" Yuna said unhelpfully, "To be honest, we aren't sure why he didn't want to be put into stasis, but he flat out refused our offers to help him stay warm…"

Both Tron and Roll coughed at this, while Ira raised her eyebrows slightly at what was obviously _not_ a purposeful double entendre, and almost laughed at the comically outraged faces of Roll and Tron.

She decided to bring up the more "pertinent" questions, as it was clear that both Tron and Roll were too shocked into caring about the present situation, "So… This Guynie Toren thing… Is this thing something we should really be worried about? I mean, we've made it this far, can't we just… I dunno… Leave?"

Yuna nodded slowly, "So far… We haven't done anything to provoke a response, and let's hope it stays that way."

The answering silence surrounding them seemed to emphasize the point. Ira shifted nervously on her feet, seeing figures moving in the shadows with her overactive imagination.

Yuna brought her wrist up to her mouth, and began to speak into what appeared to be a bracelet.

"Sera, I believe we have reached the other side of the Assembly, but we won't be able to open this door from the inside…"

Roll and Tron both looked up at this comment, surprised to find that they had, in fact, reached a massive doorway that could have easily fit the Gesellschaft through.

"EEE EEE!" Data commented, laying his ears flat against his head, staring up at the intimidating doorway.

"kkkkksssssssshhhhhhhh…. I read you Yuna. I have taken care of the dogs, and I've actually hit a stroke of luck…."

A loud resounding clank struck the massive door from the other side, sending the scared group of women into a frenzy of movement, reacting to the unexpected noise.

Yuna was the first to come to her senses. "You've managed to get through to the other side? How?"

"One of the Elites managed to blow a rather large hole in the wall, which lead to section 3-B maintenance wing Alpha, which obviously…."

"Honestly, we really don't give two flying fu…" Tron began, but Roll cut her off.

"Can you open the door?"

"Affirmative." Sera spoke through Yuna's jewelry, and suddenly a huge, echoing voice resounded through the Assembly Room, emanating off the walls, causing them all to cover their ears.

MAINTENANCE BAY DOORS OPENING, STAND CLEAR

Suddenly, the silent room sprang into life…

Hundreds upon thousands of red lights began to glow to life, showing that the Reaverbots had finally been alerted to their presence.

"Oh no! Sera! Please, you have to hurry! Opening the door has caused mass activation! If we don't hurry…."

Her final words were cut off as a sound that seemed to come from the very bowels of Elysium rumbled and reverberated the walls.

The Bay Doors began to slowly… achingly open….

"What was that noise?" Tron said, taking over the controls from 42, still rattled from the suddenness of the completely impossible situation they found themselves in currently.

"The Guynie Toren! It's coming NOW! We need to get out of here!"

They all stood with their backs against the door, completely and utterly surrounded by an unbelievable nightmare of Reaverbots.

"Girls, I think we are in serious shit…" Ira said, adding to the obvious gravity of the situation. "We can't fight this…"

"No, we can't! We have to run before the…."

But it was too late, the Reaverbots charged at them full force, crashing through random debris and crushing the small little force with an entire army of Reaverbot metal.

"We have to fight! We have to stay here until we can get the door open!" Roll yelled, firing all around her with complete and total abandon, being pummeled left and right by Reaverbot bodies. Luckily, it seemed as though most of the Reaverbots weren't completely active, or completely finished, and instead of trying to blast them, they seemed to be resorting to complete brute force and strength in numbers to crush the hapless girls against the door.

"60 seconds! I can't get it to open any faster!" Sera yelled through the crack that had appeared between the two halves of the bay door.

"Time to go to work, Gustaff!" Tron yelled, jumping into the air and coming back down, crushing a group of helpless Mirumijee beneath the hulking bulk of the Gustaff.

Cut and bruised, Ira and Roll attempted to fight off a few half-finished Zakobons, while Yuna danced around, attempting to draw the Reaverbots away from the door…

"30 seconds! Keep going!"

"Come on, you stupid door! I don't wanna die here, please!" Ira screamed, as a wayward Miroc slammed into her full force, knocking her down. She quickly rolled away, blasting as she went, and sending the small Reaverbot to oblivion.

Then, suddenly, the entire world ended.

The entire floor in the middle of the chamber erupted into a towering volcano, exploding into the Assembly Area with the force of an atom bomb. The girls and the Gustaff were thrown against the door, as the entire room was completely destroyed around them.

"What… WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Roll screamed as the nightmare volcano exploded in front of them.

But all too soon, the answer to her question was revealed. What appeared to be freight train had blown itself through the floor, taking up almost the entire room with its tremendous size. It was unbelievable. Even Tron, who had had experience with colossal sized Reaverbots, had never seen a Reaverbot of this magnitude before. It looked as though it could hold an entire ISLAND within itself, and have room to spare.

For the first time, Yuna screamed. "SERA!"

"15 seconds! Data can fit!"

Data hopped through the doorway, screaming obscenities as he went, although no one could understand him.

Suddenly, the entire train moved to face them, and what they saw sent a shiver running down each of their spines. A huge Reaverbot eye stared down upon them, easily larger than 5 Gustaffs together, and the most horrible nightmarish face any of them had ever seen faced them across the darkness of the Assembly room, but what had seemed an endless ocean of space to them had now suddenly become incredibly small.

It's eye flashed once, to deepest black, then charged towards them, its huge momentum crushing EVERYTHING in its path.

Sera suddenly came into view behind them… the door was open!

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Sera screamed, leading the way as she scooped up Data, and everyone, with Megaman still being held in Tron's arms ran as though Hell itself was chasing them, and this time, it truly was.

The Rocket Train covered the entire distance alarmingly quickly, as the group rushed down the hallway, they could hear it fast approaching behind them.

"Oh man oh man oh man…" Ira chanted, running flat out as though her hair was on fire.

"The maintenance bay door may slow it down! It will need to bring that down before it can reach us!" Yuna yelled.

"What IS that?" Tron yelled, frantically trying to get the booster to work, but being unable to do so due to her hands shaking in fright.

"I've seen something like it before, on Kattlelox!" Roll yelled. "Getting the keys to the Main Gate! It looks like it's a massive carrier for Reaverbots!"

"No! That is just what the ones on Terra are!" Sera responded, clearly attempting to get them to understand the situation they were in. "The Elite Rocket Train Guynie Toren is a flying fortress! It CREATES the Reaverbots; it's its own mobile army! It was designed as a backup measure to the reinitialization programs on the Islands! If they failed, it would be sent to destroy its inhabitants!"

"You mean…. It can…. Fly… Through Space….?" Roll panted sprinting just behind Yuna.

"YES! We need to reach your ship, now, and get as much space between it and us as possible! It has an entire system of defense, even in space! We will need to out-run it, or it will destroy us all!"

Roll bit her lip hard in concentration, accidently cutting her lip. Mental calculations whizzed through her head, trying to think if they could start up and out-run this monster.

As if to add emphasis to the point, the Guynie Toren crushed through the partially open door, completely decimating the hallway far behind them, and causing a cacophony of grinding metal and explosions as the Rocket Car raced at them, crushing the ENTIRE hallway in a vortex of complete and utter destruction.

Roll, having run everything through her head, knew that everything she had ever known in Physics was telling her that right now, they didn't have a chance. "We don't… have a…. choice! We will have…. to give it…. everything we have! ….An Immediate Final Burn!"

Tron literally roared out at her. "Are you NUTS! We will almost certainly explode, or we may use all of the refractor energy and completely burn up in space!" Tron gripped the controls so tightly her hands began to hurt. "But you are right… we need to get there… right now!"

"It's just up ahead, look!" Yuna yelled, pointing frantically at the large door ahead of them.

Sera raised her hands into the air. "Need to..Bring…That….DOWN!" Her hands exploded to life, crushing the door with a huge energy blast, sending the entire end of the hallway flying into Docking Bay.

They flew into the large room, hearing the destruction emanating behind them, calling out their total annihilation.

"Roll! Tron! Get to the ship!" Ira called, her entire body quaking up and down with adrenaline.

"My Mother!" Roll yelled out in pain, knowing she couldn't leave her behind without breaking her heart utterly.

"Go! I'll handle it!" Sera yelled at them as she raced towards the stasis pod.

Suddenly, Megaman rolled out of the Gustaff's hands onto the ground, hitting with a dull thud.

"Megaman!" Tron and Roll screamed, arrested in their mad dash into the rocket.

Megaman got to his feet slowly, looking for all the world like he was possessed, or had gone completely insane, his eyes having a scary quality that neither had ever seen before.

He held out his hand in a gesture that clearly indicated that they needed to run, but seemed to be in a world completely his own, having succumbed completely to the cold. He raised his right arm, the Shining Laser having found its way back onto his arm.

Yuna was completely taken aback… When had he taken it back from her?

"YAHHH!" Megaman screamed in a nightmarish beastly yell, firing the Beam down the corridor at the Guynie Toren, slowing it down in its assault, blasting through its first layer of armor slowly.

"START THE ROCKET NOW!"Yuna screamed at them, as both stared completely entranced by Megaman in his Final Stand against certain death. "I'll stop him!"

Both turned and flew towards the Zuhilfekommen. Tron activated the bay doors remotely, almost shoving the Gustaff through the hatch, with Roll squeezing in behind. Tron jumped out of the Gustaff. "Stay here 42! You may need to let them in!"

42, who was completely lost and totally out of his element, simply nodded dumbly as the two girls literally flew to the front of the rocket.

"Starting firing sequence… setting optimal trajectory…" Roll yelled at Tron, as Tron grabbed the controls, bringing the panel to life. Her fingers flew across, checking everything was in range.

Megaman was barely standing, holding the incredible beast off with all his energy, fading quickly. His eyes closed, the toll finally taken, as he fell to the ground, but was caught just in time by Yuna, who began dragging him bodily towards the rocket. Sera shot by, holding the stasis pod out in front of her.

The Monster re-started its run, the form of complete terror. Yuna finally managed to drag Megaman into the rocket.

"The Dock! We need to open it!" Roll called down to them.

"HOLD ON!" Tron yelled as the engine roared to life beneath them.

Sera held her hand out as the hatch began to close…

"….only one shot…" she murmured. A blast of energy came out as the rocket lifted slowly, completely destroying a panel on the wall, and suddenly, the Sapce Bay Door began to open suddenly, sucking the artificial atmosphere out with it.

Sera slammed the hatch closed, and the vacuum remained outside of the rocket. It began to pull the already moving rocket out of the bay, just as the Guynie Toren reached the outer door, crushing the frame with a devastating train wreck of a blow.

"Punch it!" Tron yelled, as Roll shoved her hands forward.

The Zuhilfekommen shot forward like a bullet from a gun. Warning lights blazed out from every direction, and alarms blared in their ears and the rocket shot out into space, shooting out with the debris being sucked out into the vacuum of space.

Yuna and Sera fought against the force pulling them down, dragging Megaman up into the cockpit with them. Ira, who was completely pinned against her seat, had her eyes closed tightly, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please let him be alright…."

Sera and Yuna finally made it up into the cockpit, and Ira glanced over at them. "Oh thank you!" She yelled, grasping for Megaman's hand… "I thought he was… he wasn't…going to…"

"It's ok… we made it… He's unconscious, but we did it!" Yuna yelled over the roar of the engine.

"NO! We didn't!" Roll yelled. "Our velocity, we can't control it! We are losing control!"

Tron fought against the controls. "We are too heavy!"

"We have more weight than we had anticipated! I don't know what to do! The angle of trajectory for re-entry is tiny! If we are off by even a tenth of a degree, or come in too hot, we will burn up!"

"What? Why!" Ira yelled, the fear back in her eyes.

"Friction! The atmosphere will tear us to pieces!"

Suddenly, the whole ship rocked suddenly…

"…That wasn't the engines, something hit us!" Tron yelled. Having reached escape velocity from Elysium, they were able to move around, and Ira jumped to the window with Yuna and peered out into space.

They weren't happy with what they saw.

"IT'S BEHIND US! THE GUYNIE TOREN IS BEHIND US!"

WARNING! SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT! POWER USAGE CRITICAL! Roll's voice called at them from the speakers; an automated message that rose the hair on all of their necks.

"We can't slow down! If we get within range, that monster will destroy us!" Roll yelled, having abandoned her post to reach out for Megaman. She clutched him tightly to her while all insanity broke out around her.

"Can we fight it?" Sera asked

"There aren't any weapons on this ship it was designed for a quick rescue, not a war!" Ira said in a rush.

"Can't you wait FIVE SECONDS BEFORE HOUNDING HIM, WE ARE HAVING A CRISIS HERE!" Tron yelled at Roll.

"I… I think we have done all we can… but I don't know if we are gonna make it…" Roll said with a hollow look in her eyes, looking down on Megaman…

Megaman…

"Plus… You are the better pilot, you said so yourself…" Roll stated sardonically

Tron smiled bitterly. "Joking? At a time like this Blondie? Maybe you aren't so bad after all…"

Sera and Yuna looked at each other wordlessly, obviously not feeling how the two young geniuses were thinking.

"We can't give up! There has to be something… ANYTHING? We can fly in space, maybe we…"

"You can't… If you leave the ship you won't be able to come back in to the ship. We will lose you forever, or you will burn up in the atmosphere too… The only thing that would be able to fight back is the Gustaff, but obviously that's out of the question…" Tron said.

She never thought it would end like this. But faced with their destruction, Tron was surprisingly calm. She released the controls, and the ship flew straight towards the gigantic blue sphere ahead of them, and both she and Roll cradled him, while Ira held his cold hand.

It was truly the end for their little rescue mission.

Roll began to speak… "I know you can hear me Megaman, and I just wanted to let you know, if we all die right now, that I wouldn't have been able to live without you, and here, and the end, I just want you to know…

Ira, Tron, and Roll spoke together. "I love you, Megaman…"

WARNING! STORAGE AREA HATCH HAS BEEN RELEASED! DECOMPRESSION IMMINENT! SEALING BULKHEAD!

The entire ship spiraled out of control, sending them all scattering in all directions

"Whaaaa? WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

XxXxXxX

42 knew what he had to do. He had heard everything.

"We are too heavy!"

"The only thing that can fight it is the Gustaff!"

"…Lost in space forever!..."

42 couldn't allow anything like that to happen to Miss Tron. Ever. He needed to do something. And he just so happened to know EXACTLY how to pilot the Gustaff without his Mistresses help!

He scrambled up onto the huge piece of machinery, while Data jumped around, voicing his own thoughts in his own incoherent way. 42 Scrambled into the driver's seat, activating the Gustaff, and aiming the arm towards the release catch for the shuttle hatch.

"Umm… Mr. Monkey should probably leave now…" 42 said into the microphone.

Data, having gotten a glimpse into the little Servbot's intentions, ran screaming towards the front, trying to warn the two girls piloting the rocket.

42 released the door, and was blown out into space with all of the equipment residing in the storage area. Much of it froze instantly, covered in a sheen coating of ice after being sprayed by coolant that was blown out of the rocket during the release.

But 42 and the Gustaff were just fine.

42 activated the rocket booster on the Gustaff's back, finding that his Mistress had created something that she hadn't intended to when creating the booster pack for short dashes (mostly to fight Megaman).

She had created a short range space shuttle.

The Guynie Toren began to catch up to him, as he watched the Zuhilfekommen spiraling out of control

"Good bye Miss Tron!" 42 said in his cheery Servbot voice.

Suddenly, Tron's voice came onto the intercom…

"…kssshhh…. 42? Ksssssshhh 42 WHAT WERE YOU DOING? Get back here, quickly! 42 NOO!"

But 42 was already in motion. The Guynie Toren had unleashed a torrent of Reaverbots, flying out to attack the ship as it fell defenseless towards the blue planet below. He unleashed the booster, using the large ship as a battering ram, attempting to fire the machine gun…

But nothing came out… He was in space! No bullets could fire!

The Reaverbots fired out laser blasts at him. These new Reaverbots seemed to be specifically designed for space battles, looking like miniature Servitor Units in dragon form. 42 answered back with an endless barrage of lasers right back at them. He realized he was Miss Tron's last hope! He shot at the front of the Guynie Toren like a bullet, flying at it, picking up speed, aiming right for the large Reaverbot's single eye.

XxXxXxX

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING? Get back here, quickly! 42 NOO!" Tron screamed into the microphone, tears streaming down her face.

"Tron! TRON! Help me, please!" Roll yelled to her, trying to control the Zuhilfekommen and bring it out of its death spiral. Roll looked over at the temperature readings… They were increasing… They had reached the outer atmosphere!

"Tron HURRY!"

Tron raced to the controls next to Roll, looking at the status. "Power usage down 33%! How is that possible!"

"We lost the Gustaff, along with all of the equipment!"

CATASTROPHIC TRAJECTORY DETECTED

"Roll, we need to pull out of this spiral, or else we are all going to die!" Yuna yelled, grasping the seat behind Roll tightly.

"Right!" Roll yanked back on the controls, and to her great surprise, the ship responded quickly… The loss in weight had given them back their power to control their velocity!

"Hurry! Hurryhurryhurryhurry!" Ira yelled frantically. "That little Lego man may have just saved all our butts!"

"Re-calibrating! Come on baby, just a bit more…"

"It's too late! We can't come out of the dive! But we can slow ourselves down! We may be in for a bit of a rough landing!" Tron said.

"The Guynie Toren! It won't stop till it brings us down!" Sera said, attempting to see where the behemoth was behind them, but was unable to see it.

"There is nothing we can do about that! We only have 1 minute to total re-entry!"

XxXxXxX

42 grasped the controls with this little hands tightly, trying to avoid the majority of the endless Reaverbot storm he was in. He pushed the Gustaff for all it was worth, firing every weapon that would work directly at the damaged front of the gigantic death train.

The Guynie Toren charged forward, attempting to crush the little knat that had dared to get in the way of his prey.

"Ohh no! It's not working! I can't stop it with these weapons!" 42 said. "What can I do?"

And despite Tron's vehement refusal to believe it, Servbot 42 had an idea.

His very first, own, idea.

He punched the emergency boosters, and rocketed at the Train as fast as the Gustaff could fly.

The Guynie Toren reacted to the sudden change in tactic, increasing its own speed, flying through the air with unstoppable momentum! 42 was about to be completely obliterated by a runaway train!

At the very last moment, 42 fired every possible weapon the Gustaff had at the exposed, damaged hole in the eye that Megaman had managed to burn through, into the very central processing unit of the Omega Rocket Train Guynie Toren.

42 and the Gustaff met head on with the Master Reaverbot at unbelievable speeds. The Gustaff was completely vaporized in the resulting crash, decimating the inside of the Guynie Toren and blowing out through the other side in a huge scattering of debris.

The train continued to barrel ahead, flying towards the blue planet… But all the little Reaverbots began to burn up in the atmosphere, and were completely destroyed.

The Death Train was no more.

XxXxXxXxX

"Look!" Ira screamed out, as the Guynie Toren blew past them in a torrent of debris, "The thing! It just passed us? What happened?"

"It must have been Servbot 42! He must have fought it with the Gustaff! There's no other way!" Tron yelled, fighting back the tears forming in her eyes at the thought of the little yellow robot fighting that horrible monster.

"Tron! The atmosphere! He may have saved us from the Reaverbots, but he destroyed our heat shielding! We are going to burn up!" Roll yelled, gesturing wildly with her hand at the Hull temperature readings.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Yuna said, pointing at the dead hulk of machinery. "Get behind the Guynie Toren! It's our only chance!"

"What… Like… Atmospheric drafting?" Roll said, looking between the two Mother Units… "I don't really think…"

"DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA, BLONDIE?" Tron yelled as she barrel rolled the Zuhilfekommen behind the Guynie Toren. The rocket began to be pelted by debris.

"If we stay back here, a big piece could break right through us!" Ira said, flinching as yet another piece of debris that looked suspiciously like the Bonne Insignia smacked against the cockpit.

"Too late!" Sera said, looking at the re-entry countdown

RE-ENTRY IMMINENT, AUTOMATIC RE-ENTRY PROCEDURES ACTIVATED, PLEASE SECURE ANY LOOSE ARTICLES

They all looked at each other in surprise, then scrambled for any seat, trying to strap themselves in tightly. Tron and Roll grabbed Megaman and harnessed themselves all together with whatever they could tie together. While obviously not ideal, the harness they fashioned seemed to be secure.

"Hang on!" Roll said, as they broke through the clouds and saw, so far below, yet racing to greet them, a beautiful blue ocean on a beautiful sunny day.

"I guess there are worse things to see in your final moments, hunh Roll?" Tron said, holding out her hand.

"Nothing more beautiful in the world."

They hit the water going 200 miles per hour

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_He was sinking the in water…_

_That was when he saw him… a man… with a white beard…_

"_Fight, Megaman… For everlasting peace!"_


	10. Chapter 8: Reunion

**Guess I finally get to write that whole reunion chapter that everyone is expecting… I'll throw in something interesting I'm sure…Also be aware, there is a lot to cover, so this chapter can really just be considered "Part I" If you wanna think about it that way. I don't like leaving loose ends in chapters, except the ones I purposely put at the end. Don't worry, after posting this, I'll keep on writing, getting to better and better stuff… I guess I like keeping the chapters to a certain length... After a while there should be a break between ideas... Otherwise I'd just keep on writing forever and it would be hard to create chapter divisions. Please edit and review this one... I feel like its a complete mess, seeing as how it feels only half done (which technically it is...) I'd just hate the idea of people not wanting to read further cause I screw up a chapter... tell me what you think?**

**I don't own any of these characters, it's all Capcom**

**I've had a lot of hits, but little to no reviews… and by a lot of hits I mean that in a relative sense… around 2000… Apparently this isn't the biggest fandom there is, and I guess I'm preaching to the wrong audience… Maybe I should write something for a fandom that still gives a crap about their characters. I don't know, Sometimes I feel like a lone gun out here, loving Megaman Legends… So if you feel like proving me wrong, give me some good, long reviews… And don't flame what I just said, I didn't mean it in a mean way, more like a "I can't believe more people don't love Megaman Legends." It's old, it's true… But I guess I just can't jump on the Naruto bandwagon.**

**You know what I recently discovered though? The anime "Sekirei". I know, it's basically just a bunch of girls with huge boobs jumping around, but it's kinda cute too…as in, I wanna go into that world and live there forever hahaha.**

**You know what else is awesome? Devil May Cry fanfics… especially the raunchy Dante/Lady ones… What the hell am I talking about again?**

**Oh right, Megaman Legends…**

**P.S. : There are probably going to be a couple of parts in this chapter that don't really need to be explained, assuming that you played the games, and there are parts that are explained, even though you "think" you know the story, but may be quite important way later. But to those of you who may not fully understand the Megaman Legends timeline, I can and will ret con this chapter, and write ALL of the exposition down, but if you think its fine the way it is, let me know too. I like to write it all down, but it may seem like a lot of repeated storyline that most readers would already know…**

**P.S.S. Thank you everyone for the reviews… I think I'll start responding to each individually, because yes, I read them all, and yes, they mean a lot to me… **

**P.S.S.S. I just retconned this chapter, because I just learned do to my sources on Megaman Legends Universe a little bit of the backstory on Aero. I had written it that her parents were dead, but apparently at least her father is not. But I had ALREADY written about the gangs controlling the island, and that actually turned out to be RIGHT! Can you believe it? So far this story was canon, and I didn't even know it! Of course, they call themselves the Bright Bats, not the… you know what? Just read it, but know that I had written this about a MONTH before Capcom let the info out about Barrett and the gangs of the Island! WOO! **

**That's right Capcom, I beat you to the punch… now to finish this story before you finish your game, and see who wins in the end…**

**Seriously, this may be a first on lol**

CHAPTER 8:

REUNION

The world was very cold, and very dark.

A torrent of water and screeching metal.

Then, a pair of hands that seemed to come from nowhere wrapped themselves around her, pulling her from the water…

Time seemed to pass very slowly, but seemed to just fly by at the same time.

She could feel the world beginning to form back around her, feel warmth coming back into her extremities.

What happened?

Where am I?

Slowly, finally, she opened her eyes to a new, bright shining world.

A bronze metal ceiling fan revolved slowly over her head, twirling in an endless circle. She followed its movement, feeling as though she was being reborn.

Where was she?

Slowly, a door creaked open, and a man dressed in green scrubs backed into the room, carrying a small clipboard. A doctor, most likely.

"Oh, hello there! You gave us quite a scare, weren't really sure what to do with you for a moment or two…" The doctor said in a soft voice.

She finally found her throat; "Wh…ere… am I?" her voice a raspy mess.

"You are in a hospital, you were in quite a spectacular aeronautical wreck… Never seen anything quite like it."

Slowly growing anxious at the doctor's lax attitude towards her situation, she grew more worried.

"What accident? What are you talking about… I don't remember being on a ship?"

"Oh, you weren't on the ship, my dear, you just happened to be out on a boat in the wrong place at the wrong time…"

The girl sat up too quickly, causing a head rush, and causing the doctor to force her back down onto the bed.

"Calm down, Aero. Everything is going to be fine…"

"No, it's not! Oh man, I KNEW I shouldn't have gone out on the water today, I just KNEW this would happen! Red is going to KILL me! He wanted me to find the ruins that have been sprouting out underwater, and he…"

"…Will just have to wait until you are all better!" A large man said, entering into the room, and waving an airy hand at the doctor, with a large, vapid smile on his face that seemed even to Aero to have a particularly nasty edge to it. She recognized him instantly as the leader of the Digger Syndicate on the island, as did the doctor, who quickly stood up and quietly closed the door behind him. Everyone knew about the local digger syndicate, unfortunately for this island, that wasn't a good thing.

As soon as the doctor disappeared behind the door, the smile fell off of his face.

"…R…Red! I'm sorry! I…"

"Quiet down, Aero, I'd understand if you had failed me due to your usual incompetence, but NO ONE expects a meteor to fall on their head in the middle of the ocean!" Red laughed a raucous laugh, which made Aero wince.

She didn't like having to work for this scary guy, but she knew that it would be her only chance off of this stupid island. Ever since she could remember, she had been at the mercy of Red and his gang of miscreant diggers who called themselves by the name of "Red Digger Syndicate".

The man standing in front of her was Red himself, the leader of what she was essentially coming to understand was nothing more than a pirating group assuming the role of a helpful community for diggers. Red was a wall of man, huge and intimidating, and liked to throw around his power frequently. Aero, being the small, petite, albeit cute, girl that she was, was no match to someone of his caliber, although the thought had crossed her mind numerous times…

What was most unsettling to her was how little he seemed to care for her welfare, given the present situation. She always seemed to be… expendable… All her life to him, and the other diggers that worked with them always grew frustrated at her attempts to make up for her lack of experience.

Unfortunately for Aero, she was stuck serving this jerk for the time being. As she was completely broke, living on her own since having a falling out with her father, she needed his help just to survive, and that had been the way it always was for. She absolutely hated to appear weak to anyone, and was always trying to prove herself (and perhaps convince her own mind) that she was worth something in this world. When she run away, she vowed that she would never let anyone down again, but that she wasn't going to live under her father's commanding thumb anymore… Not that he would have accepted her back. Being told that he "had no daughter" before slamming the door in her face seemed to be just as conclusive as him dying.

Unfortunately for her, having gotten roped into this syndicate meant being ridiculed for every failure she had, and now her soul was almost totally shattered and bent to their will. It was a rotten way to live… Basically she had run from the frying pan directly into the fire, but there was no going back now.

She flopped back down onto the soft pillow, having come back to the present. "So that's what happened? I must have the worst luck in the world…!"

"No, that isn't what happened, and I do believe that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, in fact, I don't think you could have been any luckier!"

There it was again! Aero bristled… This guy treated her like a piece of garbage, insulting her day in and day out. She was so tired of it, but there was no way out... She had spent most of her nights crying over such things, but today was different. She had almost died, for crying out loud!

"Would you mind elaborating?" Aero said impatiently, holding up her arm to see an IV attached… going slightly green at the sight, she let it fall back down.

Red raised an eyebrow, and Aero hung her head like a whipped dog.

"I..I'm sorry…"

Red chose to ignore her completely.

"You got hit by a shuttle!"

"You mean, like… A digger ship?"

"No, you half-wit, I'm talking about THE space shuttle! The Zuhickywhatsit!" Red said, with a rather noticeable gleam in his eyes.

Aero's eyes opened as big as saucers.

"The… the rocket from Calbania, the Zuhilfekommen? The one with THE Roll Caskett and Tron Bonne!"

Tron and Roll had been her heroes every since she had heard of them. Two independent women, who made it through the world on their own intelligence and strength… She had been following the story of their ascent to the moon endlessly on the TV… But was unable to actually SEE them off, as Red had told her that he wouldn't let her leave this island for such a "stupid reason".

"The very same." Red said jauntily, setting his bulk down into a chair that sat next to the bed. "They appeared to have made it back… in more or less one piece… All of them, in fact…"

"So… They actually made it to the moon? And brought THE Megaman Volnutt, the greatest digger EVER, back down? That's amazing! I wonder what it was like, what HE is like!"

Aero was most intrigued by this Blue Bomber everyone was talking about… Pictures of him were all over the news, it was all very intriguing… and Aero had to admit she had SUCH a schoolgirl crush on him… If she had ever gone to school…

"Aero, shut up. I'm not here to discuss with you any thoughts about the crazy adventures you want to take, or any of that nonsense. You work for me, and I'm here on business, alright? As the leader of the Red Digger Syndicate, I believe we have found a golden opportunity here! I wish it wasn't you I had to trust with this, but obviously I don't have a choice but to deal with you yet again…"

Aero's heart broke again, but she put on a tough face… Red seemed to have a knack for making her feel like less than nothing… Of course, being raised by the Red Digger basically made her his slave, so she really _was_ less than nothing… She wanted more out of life, and she wanted to escape so badly… It's all she ever thought about… That and boys… But unfortunately most guys on the island tended to stay away from her, as they all slightly feared the Red Digger Syndicate, and all of the Diggers and Spotters she knew treated her like a footstool.

Aero frowned. "I'm sorry that you don't have anyone else… But whatever it is, I'll do it. I won't let you down!"

It was Red's turn to frown. "We will see. I'll fill you in on the plan, but I'll see how you do. I know these types of people. Sincere saps, easy to make a buck off of if you know how. With the exception of the Bonnes, these goody two-shoes are ripe for the picking!" Red smiled his shark smile.

"But… But why would you want to do that to them… They are… diggers, good people?"

"Aero, you don't get ahead in this world by being nice, you get ahead by surviving, and if we can get them to dance for us, then we will have it made. With that in mind, I'm sure that they will come visit you here. You better make friends with them, stick to them like glue. I want you to know what color Miss Blonde Spotter's underwear is every day, you got that?"

Aero was confused… "But… But why?"

"Did I say you had choice? Or an opinion? My word, you are dense! Just do what you are told, and maybe I'll forget a little portion of the debt you owe me for keeping you off of the streets."

Aero sighed and closed her eyes. Yes. Her debt… It always seemed to grow with him, what could she do?

"Alright… I'll see what I can do…"

"Excellent!"

XxXxXxXxXxX

In another room not too far down the corridor, another woman was stirring out of her nightmares. Her blue eyes shot open, facing another familiar fan circling overhead. She turned her head to the left, into the center of the room.

She considered that briefly. She had turned her head… Her own head.

Matilda Caskett had sat up of her own free will for the first time in almost 17 years.

She grasped her face in her hands… Her own two hands… and she cried.

She couldn't believe it. No more Yuna, no more Elysium. After 17 years, after that life changing decision to fly to Forbidden Island in search of that STUPID Mother Lode, she was finally able to move of her own accord. She couldn't believe, after all she had been through, that finally she was herself again. She had always dreamt about what her life would be like if she ever made it away from space.

But with Banner… Dead… and Roll lost to her, she never would have thought that it would have been possible. But when Roll had found her, looking for the Mother Lode…

"Mother Lode…" She thought viciously. "What a laugh…." It seemed so ironic to her now that the wild goose chase that the entire population was searching for was nothing more than a simple play on words. In actuality it would have destroyed them all.

She raised her head from her hands, her tears already drying on her face. She appeared to be in some sort of medical facility. Of course, knowing that carbons were not exactly the most advanced species when it came to medical practices, she assumed that she was alright, but how had she gotten here? The last thing that she remembered was her last internal conversation with Yuna… She had never really gotten used to how they had been able to communicate with each other, as though she were only a ghost floating around inside of her own head, while Yuna moved her eyes and spoke with her mouth.

Suddenly, she noticed a mirror across the room, and saw a reflection of herself. It had been so long, and she had been so young then…

A beautiful woman looked back at her… It was so strange… She hadn't seen a reflection of herself in over a decade, but she seemed to be very similar to what she had been so long ago… Almost as if her aging had somehow slowed.

"That's entirely possible…" She thought to herself, thinking that the sterile lifestyle that Yuna had lived during their time together had most likely altered her own lifespan.

It wasn't that she wasn't grateful. After finding out how much Yuna had sacrificed, and being unable to return to her _OWN _body, it was a very interesting predicament. Yuna had always been very respectful of her, and was constantly trying to accommodate to her wishes. In fact, Matilda began to understand how all of this probably came about…

"_So what happens now?" Matilda asked, thinking more to herself then to Yuna directly, but of course, anything Matilda thought, Yuna heard…_

"_Well, now that Megaman has destroyed Elysium, and we are basically waiting for rescue, your body will have to be stored somewhere so that you will still be alive by the time Roll comes to save us all…"_

_Yuna felt the pride and happiness swell from the corner of her mind that Matilda always occupied. She had really grown fond of Matilda, as she had truly changed her own outlook on life and the importance of love. It had really been that, more than anything, that had made understanding Megaman Trigger's actions a simple task. She knew Sera would see the truth, in the end… But as for the present, she was becoming truly saddened by the prospect of what was about to happen…_

"_The time has finally come, Matilda… You and I are finally going to part ways…"_

_Matilda could tell how depressed Yuna was in saying it, but she herself felt only a catharsis. She knew it was going to happen, and while she was happy, she would miss the bond they had shared…_

"_Well it's about time!" Matilda said, joking with the Mother Unit._

_As soon as the stasis pod became dark, the last thing Matilda heard before drifting into sleep was…_

"_I'll miss you, Matilda…"_

Matilda looked down at her feet. The only good thing about being separated from Yuna was the use of her body, but Matilda had actually learned so much. Even the technological aspects of stasis had become known to her. By carbon standards, she was now a complete genius, probably only rivaled by her daughter.

Suddenly, she finally realized what must have happened!

"Roll! Oh my sweet baby… Oh God…" Matilda sat up, yanking cords out in every which way. Unfortunately, a nurse saw her apparent attempts to escape, and had immediately called for back up to restrain the blonde woman.

"It's OK! Everything is fine, you are in Teomo City Hospital, on Klickelan Island!"

But this was completely lost on Matilda. "Roll! I need to see her! Where is she?"

"She… She's stable… If you'll just…"

"STABLE? What has happened? Where… What…"

"Calm down, Mrs. Caskett, please! We don't want to have to sedate you!"

Matilda calmed down just enough to look at the doctors with a slightly panicked expression on her face.

"What has happened?"

"Well…" The doctor looked around for help from his peers, and when it became obvious that no one was going to speak for him, he began to explain.

"Mrs. Caskett, you were on board a shuttle that was… well… that was coming from outer space… do you remember any of this?"

"Well, I know I was in space… Just… Tell me how I got here! I was on a shuttle?"

"Yes, you were on the Zuhilfekommen along with a few other passengers, including your daughter. They were on a mission to reach the second moon… I'm assuming you went with them, is that correct?"

Matilda just stared. Her mind working quickly to piece what had happened together, as the doctor was somewhat limited… Roll… She must have come to rescue them… Matilda assumed the "other passengers" to be Yuna, Sera, and Megaman… But who knows?

"How is everyone? Did everyone make it back down safely?"

"Well… More or less…" To this, Matilda began to squirm again, and the doctor hurried to explain. "No! Its fine! Everyone is stable and recovering! Everyone will be fine! Its alright!"

Matilda stopped struggling, and looked at them. "So we made it back to Terra?"

The doctors looked confused, and she remembered that they wouldn't call it that…

"Err… I mean…"

"Mrs. Caskett, can you explain to us what you were doing in that large diamond shaped thing in the shuttle?" The doctor looked at her pointedly. "It saved you from the crash, you don't have a scratch on you, was it something your daughter built?"

"Umm… Yes… She did…"

"We thought as much" The doctor nodded sanctimoniously. "It seemed as though Prof. Caskett knew exactly what to do when he saw it. It was actually him who released you when he had arrived on the island. We were all at a loss…

Matilda was completely stunned…

…_.Daddy…._

"Hold her down!" Matilda had attempted to once again free herself from their restraint.

"She won't…Stop…Struggling!"

"Stand aside!"

A man in a large overcoat appeared in the doorway, with his face shrouded in shadow. The nurses stopped struggling at the sound of the commanding voice, and Matilda stopped squirming, frozen in complete and utter shock…

"If you please, I would like to speak to her alone, she will be fine, trust me."

"Sir, we can't just…"

"Please. She won't be a bother anymore, I promise." The shrouded man said with a note of finality in his voice, as though the matter was so beyond their control that they really just needed to leave.

"Uh…. Yes sir…." A nurse said, ushering the others out into the hallway, after seeing that Matilda had given up her struggle, with scandalized looks upon their faces. With a click, the door shut behind them, and Matilda stared at the man in the doorframe. He seemed to be rather large, at least partly so, she couldn't tell because of his long coat, but she did not recognize this man.

"Who… Are you?"

"…."

The man didn't say anything… He wordlessly moved, slowly, towards the nearest chair, and sat down, all the while staring at the woman in the bed, his face covered just enough.

They remained like that for a spell, until the tension cut into Matilda too far…

"Look, I'm not sure I recognize you, and I need to leave, so if you'll…"

"No." The man said, not even moving a single inch in his chair. A stoic, unyielding statue.

Matilda waited, sitting at a complete loss. Who was this Man?

"I didn't believe it. I'm not sure I do even now. How can this be happening?" The man said, seemingly rhetorically, and Matilda didn't say anything.

The man seemed to just be talking to himself, but Matilda had a very uneasy feeling deep down. She didn't know what to expect from this man… Was he going to attack her? Or sit there in the shadows?

"I had decided to watch her go again, even though she never knew who I truly was even now…" The man said cryptically, confusing Matilda even more. "I never thought I would see the day… When she would come back to me, that somehow, she would find her way… But she did… After so much pain and torment that I'm sure she suffered through…. But you… I…I…"

The man grasped his head between his hands, and for the first time Matilda become aware that his right arm was almost completely mechanical. It looked as though it was fashioned from Reaverbots…

"I never thought I would see you ever again…" The man said slowly…

Matilda was completely stunned at this comment. She hadn't seen anyone for 17 years; not anyone that would recognize her as Matilda anyway… She was so confused! Perhaps he was suffering from some sort of dementia, as he had rambled on about some girl that she didn't know.

"…. You… Know who I am?" Matilda asked slowly, trying to remember proper speaking etiquette for the first time in what felt like a lifetime…

"Not anymore… But once upon a time… Yes… Yes I did…" The veiled man said in a reminiscent whisper. He seemed to be…. Crying?

"Please… Tell me… Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"My name…. Is Joe… Just Joe… Well, it has been now for 17 years…"

17 years…? But isn't that…? Something was scratching in the back of her mind, something tremendous… and horrifying… Just beyond the brink of her conscious mind…

"I'm really sorry, you must have me confused with someone else, I don't know anyone named Joe, and I'll be honest, you are the first person that I've seen or talked to in… A very long time…"

"No." Joe said, softly. "I'm not wrong. I thought I was wrong, had to be wrong, but there is no other way it could have been, could it? I mean, you came back with her, back from the stars… and your eyes… I'd never forget them…"

Matilda's mind nudged her again. She had a feeling that this man was about to shatter her world, just as soon as she had reclaimed it… "Are you talking about… Roll?"

Joe sat back again. "I didn't think it would have been possible for someone to be more beautiful than you, but she somehow managed it. I couldn't believe it when I heard the stories… She is so smart… Must have gotten her looks from you…. And her brains from… Her father…"

Matilda's heart stopped… She stared at him, while her heart monitor flickered beside her… For the first time, she looked into his eyes. His beautiful green eyes, and finally knew where she had seen them before.

On her daughter.

"…Banner?" Matilda said, saying the word as though if it had been spoken any louder, it would have shattered upon leaving her lips. "…Banner… Is it you?"

The man appeared to take the name as a physical blow, but then, slowly, nodded his head.

Matilda's eyes streamed torrents of tears, but she didn't blink them out of her eyes, she kept them open, staring at her true love as though if she blinked, he would disappear.

"Banner!" She flung herself onto him, while he himself wept unashamedly.

"I thought you had died on Forbidden Island, and that I was alone…"

"I thought that if Yuna and I looked hard enough, we would find you, but we never did!"

"…Yuna..?"

Matilda laughed, she laughed and cried at the same time, choking on her sobs and clutching to him as though she was likely to never let go…

"So much time… Lost…" Banner said.

"It doesn't matter, I don't care, I don't care what happened, my life has started all over again, and I can't believe that I can share it with you…" Matilda almost yelled into his chest.

"Well…" Banner started, as Matilda looked up at him as he held her. "Not quite… You see… after you died, I was saved… By a woman… Named Maria. She took me in from the cold, and over the years, has helped me to… Heal… From losing you…"

Matilda's heart shattered… "But… But…"

"No, Mattie, no don't worry. She and I love each other, but not how I love you… You see, I never actually told her who I was. From the moment I lost you, I had become Joe… A man with no past, and to be honest… No future… But to her, she thought I had lost my memory of who I was before, but I never did… For years, I tried to hide it, and it didn't help that she ran the local bar. But she understood me, and accepted me anyway. In fact, this all came about when our daughter came to the Island where we were living, in search of parts to build a dropship…"

Both Matilda and Banner eyed daggers at each other, thinking about that horrible machine and what it had done to them. "I had been working on another working dropship for years, slowly, never really intending on finishing it, thinking, with some sort of long forgotten hope, that I could go back there one day… and find you."

Matilda sat back, covering her mouth with her hand… How horrible… How much he must have suffered, tortured every day, thinking he had killed her. It was a nightmare that she had shared with him entirely.

"I know it sounds stupid, but I know that I was saved by a little girl… with pigtails… and I knew that if there was someone there, someone who could help me… Maybe… Just maybe, they could have helped you too…"

"That doesn't sound stupid at all Banner. In fact, you were exactly right…"

Banner looked up, with tears still in his eyes… "You mean… She was real?"

"Real? Haha, yes, my love, she was real… In fact… Her name was Yuna…And so was mine…"

XxXxXxXxXxX

"…Well really, all I can say was that it was a good thing he was wearing that armor. He really could have been in serious danger if he hadn't have been. In fact, all three of them would have probably died if he hadn't taken the brunt of the impact away. Of course, all of his armor was completely destroyed, but I'm sure when he's back in fighting condition, he can just go buy more Kevlar Armor, but for now, it's back to standard!"

Tron's eyes opened, the conversation having brought her out of her dreams, filled with glowing red eyes and being swallowed whole by Thomas the Tank Engine. She sat up, but immediately regretted the decision, having discovered her arm being held in a splint; apparently broken. She cursed out loud, causing the nurse that was speaking to look over at her in surprise.

"Ah! Miss Bonne! How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Peachy." Tron said facetiously, obviously not in the mood to be coddled, and instead started grilling the hapless nurse, who was completely taken by surprise.

"What the heck happened? We obviously made it, did anybody else get hurt? Where is Megaman, is he going to be all right?"

"Calm down, sugar, please, or you will rip your stitches. Things are alright for now. All of you crash landed in the middle of the ocean, right on top of a poor girl out in a little boat. She is alright. As for the people in the rocket, both you and… What's her name… Ira? Yes, Ira, will be just fine. Other than a broken arm and a few moderate lacerations from armor impact, you will be fine. Ira had sprained both her wrists during the collision, holding out her arms during the impact… A few minor cuts and scrapes on her face, but she's fine too. The… um… The other two girls in the rocket with you were… Totally unharmed…" She paused as she thought about the absurdity of such an event occurring, and then continued. "Megaman and Roll, however, got the worst of it. She got caught between the bulkhead and Megaman was crushed. She has two broken ribs, a broken leg and is currently having a hard time breathing… She seems to be recovering rather quickly, however, and those two girls haven't left their room…"

"THEIR room?" Tron said, fearing the worst.

"Of course! Megaman and Roll are sharing a room. He was the worst in the crash, taking the blow for both of you two in the front with his body…

Tron couldn't believe it. Even unconscious he had protected her. Tron felt a faint glow in her heart, almost laughing at how perfect this turn of events was with respect to his personality. Then she came back to reality… "Wait… The worst?"

"Oh, don't worry. It was really the armor that did the trick. He would have certainly been totally crushed if he hadn't have been wearing it, but because he was, it looks like he is going to be ok. He was however, in deep shock and in an advanced state of hypothermia, among a whole slew of other problems, including a multitude of broken bones upon admittance… But…"

Tron sensed the hesitation. "But what?"

"But he seems to be, well, much better off now… And nobody is quite sure why."

Tron sniffed. She was fairly certain a pair of green haired creepy twins probably held the answer to THAT question.

"Well then…" Tron said, making sure to get up carefully, while taking the sling off of the bed and putting it around her neck, "I'm going to visit them now."

"Um… No, you really should be resting, please get back in…"

"Look lady, if you don't get out of my way, I'll use this cast to beat you to submission, and then I'll go anyway, understand?" Tron said, unflinchingly.

The nurse was suddenly reminded of why it was that the Bonne family was so well known. They WERE pirates after all… She merely nodded her head and pointed towards the door. "Down the hall, room 103…"

Tron stood up, swaying slightly on her feet. She then tromped over to the door, flinging it open, and was greeted with a most hilarious sight. Her two brothers and her entire army of Servbots lay or sat lounging around in a large waiting room, all snoring most uproariously, causing passerbys to stare unabashedly at the curious sight. Tron smiled so wide that her face almost split, walked over to Teisel's sleeping form, kneeling gently at his side, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, and said,

"WAKE UP TEISEL!" at the top of her voice, and laughed most uproariously as the entire party jumped up as though a bomb had gone off, with Teisel being almost completely pummeled from random Servbots and a rather surprised Bon Bonne.

After the chaos, contorted and knotted together, the group stared at the beautiful girl leering down at them, with a definite gleam in her eye at her little joke.

Teisel, even upside down, was beside himself with joy. "TRON! Oh Tron I didn't think… I didn't know… I was so… I can't believe…. How are…!"

"Slow down big brother, you're gonna have a heart attack! I'm fine, don't worry! It looks like you guys haven't slept or bathed in a week!"

"2 days, to be exact, Miss Tron!" a random Servbot voice said amidst the pile.

"I couldn't go a single second thinking that MY baby sister was in a HOSPITAL and may have been in SERIOUS MORTAL PERIL!" Teisel yelled, standing up and striking a noble pose in his green armor. "We've been here on guard, making sure you get your rest so you will be as RIGHT as RAIN!"

"Yes, fantastic job keeping watch, big brother, I'm sure your snores were MORE than enough to keep me safe…" Tron said sarcastically, feeling her heart swell for her family.

"Well, we, uh… Kinda forgot our money on the way over, so we couldn't buy any coffee…" Teisel said, causing Tron to laugh.

After this, she became serious. "Where is everyone, what's been happening?"

Teisel smiled, "Ahh, now THAT has been a real riot. Come on, let's go! But... uh… Tron… actually… before we do anything, you should know you are in a hospital gown…"

"So?" Tron said, oblivious.

"Well, uh, you know, MOST are kind of, you know… um… backless…"

"Backless? What do you mean bac…." Tron stopped… Slowly, she turned around in horror, to face a gaggle of boys with cameras at the ready, when she looked down and realized just EXACTLY what backless meant.

"_**TEISEL!**_"

XxXxXxXxXxX

Ever since she had woken up on the previous day from the pain in her ribcage, Roll had not once left Megaman's bedside. As he lay, slumbering and recovering from his ordeal up on Elysium, she had kept a silent vigil beside him, watching him. She was, of course relieved to know that everyone that was on the shuttle made it safely home, if a little worse for wear… She had even heard that her mother had been recovered from the crash as well, according to Gramps, who had been regularly visiting both of them after hearing on the news that the rocket had crash landed next to Klickelan Island. Bleucher, Jim, Osh, Bensley, in addition to almost everyone on Calbania Island, had migrated to Klickelan Island, and according to Bleucher, "are in a state of constant celebration since your return!"

Roll however, was completely oblivious to all of this. She knew, after 17 years of searching, that finally her mother was right down the hall from her, and upon waking, she would be back in her life again. She almost couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe how happy she was, but to her great surprise, the thing that made her most happy was not finding her mother, after an entire life of searching, but rather the young man lying in the bed next to her.

After finally saying those three words out loud, in the rocket, even thinking it was because they were all heading for impending doom, something deep inside of her clicked into place, and suddenly, her entire life had completely changed. She knew it because she knew that when she had said "I love you" to him, even if he didn't know it, she had completely given over all reservation of her heart to him. Of course, he was completely ignorant of this, as well as her strong devotion to him, but she had made up her mind to tell him everything the moment he was ready to hear it… Namely… When he was awake… For now, as she was unable to visit her mother in the room down the hall, she was content lying here, next to him.

Unfortunately… She wasn't the only one.

She wasn't quite sure exactly what Ira had meant when she had said those words in the rocket with her at the time, and she knew EXACTLY what Tron had meant when she had said it, to her unending aggravation, but it seemed that Ira was possibly a bit more of an issue than just "friendly love". She had sat up with Roll all night, talking with her about what had happened, about the current state of Megaman, and Roll found that, despite the fact that Ira was barely concealing her OWN feelings for Megaman, Roll and Ira had become fast friends. It was Ira, of course, who had told her about the other girl, named Aero, that they had managed to crash onto in their plummet to the ground, and both had been recently talking about visiting her as soon as Roll was able to get out of bed.

As to that, Sera and Yuna had also been a great deal of help, nursing her back to health while she slept, through some sort of unknown process, and were, in fact, present in the room as Teisel and Bon came down the hallway, while the rest of the group sat in Megaman and Roll's room, talking in low voices.

"HELLO everyone!" Teisel announced his entrance, and came into the already crowded room. "Tron will be coming along shortly, after she changes into something a little less comfortable and a little less revealing" he declared, while rubbing his eye in what was fast developing into a black eye. "It's not like I noticed and didn't tell her, I was just so happy to see her!" Teisel said, as Bleucher, Barrel, and everyone laughed at his comical face, with Roll grabbing her side from the pain, but being unable to keep the mental image of Tron smacking him across the room in a backless hospital gown. Despite feeling a tad more animosity towards Tron as a love rival, she, as well as Tron herself, felt a new bond had formed between the two of them that wasn't so easily severed.

Of course, that wasn't what really was on her mind right now. Sera and Yuna had both stated that Megaman was likely to wake up soon, as they had been helping him to "heal" through some special process of their own, which reminded her of the time after the attack on the Sulphur Bottom…

She pushed that mental image from her mind… She thought she was truly going to go crazy, seeing Megaman hurt that badly… She never wanted to see that ever again… yet here they were.

"Don't worry, Roll, everything will be fine, he will be waking up any time now!" Yuna had told her cheerfully, and that had been enough to convince Roll to keep a constant watch on him.

Barrel and Bleucher, in the present, however, were not so easily convinced. It had been a tense moment, seeing Sera and Yuna present in the room when they had arrived to see if they were alright. It had taken a considerable amount of time to convince Bleucher not to have his guards shoot the two beautiful alien girls right there on the spot. As it was, an uneasy truce had been formed between them, through Roll and Ira's constant protests towards violence against the two girls.

"If you will just wait until Megaman comes back to us, we will explain everything…" Sera told the group as a whole. While Teisel had been compliant, Bleucher required more of an explanation. Roll, Barrel, and everyone had listened in on the full description of the events that happened starting with the stealing of the keys to the Mother Lode by Sera. Yuna and Sera had been a little vague as to the actual purpose of what the keys were actually used FOR, but Roll was able to understand that it certainly wasn't to open up a treasure trove, and most likely would have been something horrible, had it not been for Megaman once again saving the day.

After Bleucher and Barrel had left that day, Roll had asked Yuna why it was that she seemed so on edge, even though everything was back to normal, and all of the craziness had finally ended.

"Well as for it ever being NORMAL around here, I'd have to say no, but there is something that has been bothering us, but now isn't the time. We'll wait for Megaman to recover, because it concerns us all…" Yuna had said, as if it was a riddle that needed solving.

Well, Roll had been content to wait. Knowing that everyone was ok, and that she was finally _finally _with Megaman again, she couldn't even REMEMBER the last time she had been so content with the world… Or maybe it was the drugs they were giving her, who knows?

Presently, however, she was waiting on pins and needles. For some reason, she had had a good feeling about today, and it seemed almost serendipitous that everyone who was in on everything was meeting together in their room, it seemed as though this would be the moment where everything was brought into focus.

Ira, who had been sitting at the foot of her bed, got up and walked over to Megaman's side, and brushed some hair away from his face that had fallen while he was sleeping. A horrible monster swelled up within Roll, but it subsided with the entrance of Tron Bonne, who stormed into the room, hearing one last wolf whistle echoing down the hallway, when she slammed the door, causing a pot of flowers that had been sitting on a small dresser by the drawer wobble and begin to fall, but was caught deftly by Sera, who seemed to also be on edge as well…

Tron, who was somewhat irked by the fact that the flower pot didn't come down as planned, was slightly indifferent to the greetings and welcoming hugs of the large group of people. She turned on the spot, and saw Megaman lying in the bed, and her face softened rapidly. She went and sat by him, looking up at Yuna.

"How is he?"

Yuna smiled brightly, "Oh he'll be just fine, don't you worry… In fact, I was thinking we should try waking him soon."

Bleucher coughed. "The sooner the better. I'd like to be filled in on the details of what EXACTLY has been going on these past few months."

Barrel glanced between him and Sera, who had apparently not felt any inclination to feel any sort of remorse for her actions, and her stoic demeanor was causing the rich man to bristle in anger. "Calm down, Bleucher, we don't need a fuss, I'm sure this is all quite a good story, and I don't believe that they would all even be here if it wasn't for these two lovely young ladies, isn't that right, girls?"

Sera huffed. "Don't be fooled, we are much older than we appear…"

Yuna smiled, crushing Sera's foot beneath her own in a sign that clearly indicated to stop being so caustic, picked up what Sera had been saying. "That's true! I remember you two when you were both young men yourselves, totally lost and stranded on Forbidden Island! It seems I was right to save you both! Isn't it funny how things work themselves out?"

Sera couldn't help but nod at this. She chanced a glance at the prone form in the bed next to her, and couldn't help but feel something… unrecognizable…. Well up in her upon seeing Tron's rapt attention to his face, completely oblivious of the conversation. It wasn't like Tron to let her emotions show like this, but honestly, she had been waiting too long for this moment to have it just snatched away by these old fogeys, Teisel included!

"So tell us… Yuna… What was happening in space during all this time, and what happened to Megaman?" Barrel inquired, obviously excited in his own way.

"To tell you the total truth, the majority of our time was spent waiting for rescue. Once Megaman and I had arrived on Elysium…"

"You were with Matilda as well?" Barrel said, clearly not fully understanding the situation.

"Ah… well… no… Let me explain… further back then…" Yuna giggled, and Sera rolled her eyes.

"17 years ago, a young couple had crash landed upon what you call Forbidden Island, in search of the Legendary Mother Lode, as I'm sure all of you are aware…"

"We aren't AWARE!" Teisel said loudly, and Yuna was slightly taken off guard.

Roll chose to respond, and Tron actually turned and started to listen to the story, but still holding Megaman's hand, to which Roll chanced angry glances every now and then, to Tron's amusement. "I'm sorry Teisel, they are referring to my Mother and Father…"

"Your PARENTS! Oh, and here I was thinking you two just sprouted out of the ground to stop all of our schemes! Ho ho ho" Teisel laughed, apparently pleased with his own joke. Roll smiled a crooked, cute smile, then continued.

"Um… Well… Anyway, my parents had decided to go to Forbidden Island against the wishes of Gramps (The person in question nodding furiously across the room). They were looking for the Mother Lode, and were certain that they could find it there, as it seemed that no one had ever come back, they were sure that it was its final resting place… I never really understood the reasoning behind that, going off to a place that they knew killed any who went there… It just… Well… It doesn't matter anymore! I'm finally going to meet her! My mother!" Roll said, smiling, and yet feeling nervous all the same… Would she be proud of her?

Tron was a little interested in this story… "Well, what happened?"

Roll came back down, "Right… So they designed a ship, called a dropship, that could deal with the winds, which is what I built later to do the same thing… Though I'm sure most here were actually PRESENT for that…" Roll finished lamely…

Yuna continued… "Yep! That's what happened! Unfortunately, I believe they must have gotten something wrong, because they landed quite heavily, and I don't think they managed to do any exploring at all… By the time I had found them, Banner was freezing to death, and Matilda was… Well… She was very close to dying. It was the first time that I had ever seen anyone actually about to die… Plenty of people made it to the Island, and I'm sure they would have eventually died, but I've always been able to put them into some form of stasis, or heal them. She had maybe minutes, and there was nothing that I could do… I had never really faced mortality before that point, and I was so… offended… by it! How could carbo… I mean… People… How was it fair that they needed to die, so horribly and so alone? It was then that I decided that THIS time, I wouldn't allow it to happen."

Yuna gestured to herself and to Sera. "Sera and I are what you call Ancients, but really, we are a form of… life-mirroring organism… All machine… But part living none the less. Apparently, the people who had created us were very intelligent… Your predecessors created us in their image, but we've lost records, so we aren't sure what happened to them either, sorry to disappoint."

Sera didn't flinch at this blatant lie, and continued the story. "As such, Yuna was able to combine her own recombinant DNA with that of the Human Female, thus transferring her primary programming and functions, while leaving her original shell of a body, in order to save Matilda's life… Something that our overseeing System did not approve of…"

Sera understood and was free of the System's control, but through habit her voice still carried an edge against Yuna's actions.

"So… What you are saying is… You… Possessed her?" Bleucher said, while Barrel stared at her in awe, as well as in accusation.

"Oh no! You make it sound so… Scary! No, it wasn't possession, but we did, in the end, share one form… Matilda's own body… She and I have lived together, sharing each other's thoughts for such a long time… She and I are so much alike now, and it will be so wonderful to have her be with her family once again!" Yuna said, looking at them all warmly. "I've come to love you all so much! And that's why it's so amazing to me!"

"What is?" Barrel said, clearly listening to every word with rapt attention.

"Megaman! How could it be, purely through chance, that you, the father of my new body, that I had ALREADY saved, would later go on to find a boy in a ruin that would bring us ALL together… It seems that the Caskett family is tied quite strongly with Elysium… It certainly does seem to be a rather odd coincidence! But a fortunate one!" Yuna laughed.

Roll hadn't really thought about that… That really was strange… It did seem like there was a lot more to that particular story, but really, how did Megaman fit into all of this? It did seem so strange that Gramps just HAPPENED to find Megaman and Yuna had HAPPENED to find Gramps… almost as though there was something much deeper going on…

She filed that deep within her mind, for later pondering…

Yuna was obviously thinking along the same lines, "Megaman was such an integral figure in all of this, that it isn't surprising that we are all still standing here today because of him… What a hero, hunh? Well, for us, his antics have been around since long before any of you were born!"

Roll began to listen very closely… FINALLY she was about to learn about the Megaman that came before her Megaman… What he was…

"Megaman as you know him now is actually a form that could be equated to what I had done with Matilda. You could say that Megaman was… Reset… a long long time ago, and that he had become a human baby because of it. In a long forgotten battle, Megaman, who was known as "Trigger" back in our time, fought against our controlling system because he believed that the humans who had built the perfect Elysium world had, in a sense, lost their way. It is a rather long story, and most of it is really not something you need to understand. The most important part is that the last of the Human Race that came BEFORE you, the ones who made the ruins basically, had created Elysium to escape the…um… hardships… on the planet…" Yuna was finding it more and more difficult to skate around with half-truths, and she didn't really want to give them anything they didn't need to hear. And there was plenty that they DIDN'T need to hear…

"So, Trigger, as we will call him, actually had a very similar personality to the Megaman we know today! He was compassionate and cared about people. He was the direct guardian to the last of the old humans, who we called the Master, who was in charge of the whole operation! In the end, however, the Master decided that people here on Terra were the only ones who really, truly, understood what it was to live, outside of our cold and calculating world. Thus he entrusted one final mission for Trigger before he himself died. He told Trigger to destroy the perfect world, Elysium. That they had, in fact, been wrong to do what they had done, and that it was the people remaining on the planet that were truly the future hope of mankind… So that's what he did. Of course, he wasn't alone, but he was certainly the only one who presented a challenge. Not to go into a whole lot of depth into this, but Trigger was what we called a 1st Class Purifier, the most elite fighting unit we had, that was designed to be able to combat and destroy any adversary… I guess you can imagine that he would have been… the strongest Reaverbot of the bunch, if you catch my meaning…"

Roll and Tron looked at Megaman's form in a bit of shock, then looked at each other… How could it be… Their Megaman… Was some sort of… Reaverbot?

"But… He's… he's a person, right? He breathes and eats… is he just…" Roll's heart began to break… She hadn't been expecting this… He was a machine…

It made sense to her and the other two girls now… He was just… Too perfect… too….

"Of course not Roll! He's as human as you and me! Well, wait… no… Just you… Sorry, something I picked up from Matilda…" Yuna blushed and looked at Barrel.

"So he's not a machine?"

"Think about it this way… If your mind could be put onto a… memory card let's say; Everything that makes you _you_, and then put it into a different body, saying you could actually "create" a body, then wouldn't you still be human? Still a person?"

Tron nodded. That made sense. "So then… its sort of like his soul was…. Downloaded… I guess you could say…" She was much more comfortable with the thought of such things. She had tried to create the same sort of machines herself.

Ira spoke up for the first time. "But then, wouldn't that mean he would remember everything, about what he was? If you could just… pop in his old mind, why didn't he remember any of this before? What good would have come from erasing his memory?"

Yuna smiled "How very astute of you, Ira!"

Roll and Tron looked at Ira, who seemed to, once again, be leagues ahead of them.

"Well, Trigger's story eventually came down to a final battle here, on the planet. You see, Sera and I were overseers of the System that ran Elysium, we are what were called "mother" units, and we were actually in charge of EVERYTHING. Sera here was in charge of Elysium, while I myself was in charge of the planet. In the end, Trigger and Sera battled for supremacy upon what you now call Forbidden Island!"

"Whoa!" Ira said, then instantly put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, this is just so cool!"

And once again, Tron thought with a smirk, Ira moves to the back of the crowd…

Sera smiled at her, a rare feat. "It wasn't cool at the time, let me assure you. This was a matter of life and death for us. I was completely controlled by the System, to protect it, and he was basically a free agent running amok, terrorizing everyone and everything and cutting a line right through us. I know it may be hard to believe, but in most respects, Trigger was actually the bad guy… Well… I thought so at the time… Even if his motivations were correct, in the end, he caused an enormous toll of death…"

"A death toll, Sera?" Yuna giggled again.

Sera stared back at her deadpan, and then continued. "He and I fought on that Island, expending all of our energy. In the end, we fought to a draw, where Yuna took the opportunity to separate us, sealing me into a stasis, and evacuating and doing the same to Trigger. I hadn't known, but she hadn't chosen a side, but leaned closer to Trigger's point of view, and was thus unwilling to help either side too much in the struggle. She did, however, seal me within the stasis and used technology created on Elysium to create a powerful storm that would keep anyone from accidentally coming across me and releasing me, causing a calamity of problems for Terra…"

"Problems? This had to do with Elysium, what did this have to do with us?" Bleucher said, apparently so enraptured in the story that he had forgotten who he was speaking to.

"If I awoke, I had planned on activating the Carbon Reinitialization Program…"

Yuna nudged her in the ribs, and then picked up the thread.

"Uh… Yes… Well… You all know what happened then… It turned out, ironically, that Megaman himself actually released Sera and Geetz from the stasis, and that was in fact what she did, she used all of you to obtain the keys to the "Mother Lode". But what you think is a treasure is actually the keys to unlocking a weapon on Elysium that would wipe out all of mankind!"

They all stood around, shocked, and stared at Sera, who stared unblinkingly back.

Yuna continued hastily. "But it all turned out alright! You see, Sera still had to act for the system, she was bound by it! And once Megaman had obtained the keys, she hadn't meant to go through with it… She was jealous of how close Trigger had been to the Master, as it seemed to her that the farther from serving the Master, and the more you worked towards destroying the System, the happier he was, and the more she did what she was supposed to do for him, loving him and serving the System, the more he despised her. Thus they had fought in the Library of Elysium, only a few short months ago, to determine the fate of humanity."

"Of course, Megaman obviously won the battle, and he had finally accomplished what he was tasked with all those years ago. He destroyed the Elysium System. Sera was no longer bound to it, and thus the three of us have been waiting up there ever since!"

With the story partially finished, everyone seemed to ponder their thoughts in silence.

"This… Carbon Reinitialization Program… What exactly did that entail?" Barrell asked pointedly, obviously not so keen with the two green haired girls as he was before.

"Well…" Yuna began to explain. "All that really needs to be understood about it is that Elysium is gone for good, and it will never happen again. But originally… It was designed for a sort of…. Population control… and as a defensive mechanism from… uh… older, more powerful Reaverbots basically…" Yuna was completely at a loss, she had reached the end of her creativity when it came to lying to these people. She had learned to love a great deal of them in a very short amount of time, and not telling them the full truth on the subject seemed tantamount to a lie. But she really needed them, and she wasn't sure if telling them the full history of their planet, of their very lives, was something that would endear them to her.

Sera, however, took a more practical approach. "I know that this may be very frustrating to you all, not knowing everything about the past. But I say this quite truthfully: Some things are better left alone. Our own history is something even we don't fully comprehend, and it would be foolish of us to explain anything to you, as we don't really know ourselves. I am certain, however, that by the time this is all over, we will all know much more than we should."

Ira pondered what Yuna had said. It seemed to explain so much to everyone. Ira herself couldn't help but think about the Old City on Kattlelox, and how no one seemed to know what had happened to the people who lived there… "Well now I know…" she thought to herself darkly.

Sera's words seemed to send a chill down everyone's spines, including Teisel, who didn't let what she said escape him.

"Wait a second… What so you mean 'before this is all over'? I'm pretty sure laughing in a hospital over crazy adventures is how EVERY good story ends?"

"Not this time, Mr. Bonne…" Yuna said, not quite smiling, although Teisel wore a huge grin at being addressed as such… "But we will discuss that once Megaman wakes up…

They all lapsed back into silence, trying to comprehend what had been discussed…

"How old is he then?" Ira said, completely out of the blue, curious to know.

Yuna laughed.

"Well, actually, we aren't entirely sure about that either! The… person… known as Trigger was actually a really old unit, even by our standards. He was around before either of us, we were created relatively recently. So who knows? One thousand years? Two? What's important is what he is now, right?" Yuna asked wisely.

"…. And what is that, exactly, Yuna?" came a voice they hadn't heard speak yet. They all turned to look, and there he was:

Megaman, awake at last!

"Megaman!" Yelled out the group as a whole (With the exception of Teisel, who was still adamant in calling him Blue Boy).


	11. Chapter 9: Daddy Issues

**So, in continuing with the previous chapter…**

**Before I do though, I'm still so shocked that I had actually written something so close to the actual canon… I must be doing something right! Lol**

**Not quite sure yet how I feel about the new Barrett character… Ever since I found out about him the other night, I've been trying to learn as much as possible… Obviously he will have to be a part of this story… I think most likely the beginning may be similar, but will definitely skew off of the actual game story… Cause my purpose is to write a story that connects all the old series with this one… which I'm sure capcom isn't interested in doing… They haven't done it for the last 9000 megaman games, why start now?**

**Also, I know it has been Way way way way too long for an update, so I chopped this chapter in half, next half coming soon… Don't worry, I think about this story almost daily. It is from lack of wanting, it's from lack of time. 40 hr work weeks, plus the most insane school schedule ever. I'm kicking myself over here, trust me…**

**Anyway, in answering some reviews**

**Neospearblade: Haha, Yes, Leonardo Dicaprio will be making a cameo any minute now… Also, I know everyone was expecting a different form of exposition, so I focused on other things… I'm sure this one will end up telling everyone about Elysium doing a nose dive… We will see, I'm just taking dictation from the Megaman Legends Gods that live in my head…. Lol**

**Legendary Gamer: Well, guess you will have to see what happens! But don't assume he had the virus, try not to throw in too much X all at once, it may just surprise you in the end!**

**HashMark: Hooray! Another Review! Thanks for reading, I'll keep it flowing for you!**

**Firehedgehog: Love your reviews, they always make me smile. And from your profile, you seem to be a busy person with all the stories and favorites. I'm quite proud you thought I was worthy enough for your time to review… It's gonna get better, I promise!**

**NotTheAuthor: Screw ZX man… lol… Yeah stupid canon problems. I'm starting to think that this may be one of the first legit attempts to actually create a workable timeline of events… Hilarious how I just edit out various things… haha… I'll work it all together… Just have to put my brain back together after reading up on the brain hemorrhage that is the ZX series…**

**Sonicest: I saw this review and felt a warm glow haha… Gotta give you more to re-read! Lol**

**Halomasterchief: I can't even tell you how awesome your review was. Seriously. It was really the kick in the pants I wanted to sit down and do this. Inspiring… and while I could go over every part of your review on here, I think I'd rather just write the story… But I think I'll comment on one part at least…**

**If you've ever been to Megaman Legends Universe forums, I am THE reigning Roll supporting. The king. I smote Tronites like they were nothing haha… that being said… I'm not SAYING this is a Roll/Megaman fic… In fact at the rate this is going I'm pretty sure polygamy would be WAY more fun. Harems are always cool! Haha But yeah… If I had my way, Megaman and Roll will end up together… But you never know, this story is writing itself, actually, I'm just taking the dictation. Seriously. It all just comes out like I've been trying to write it for 10 years hahaha.**

**Anyway…**

**CHAPTER 9: Daddy Issues…**

The torrent of sound that greeted his awaking was something Megaman was not expecting. Suddenly, he was being crushed amid a tornado of hugs and kisses, hand shaking and sobs, coming from all different directions and intensities. He finally was able to make out the forms crushing him into his pillow…

Tron… Roll… Even Yuna…

Megaman felt a dull pain in his side from the sudden onslaught, but completely ignored it. He was too happy.

"Alright, that's enough, we don't want to smother the poor boy!" Barrell said, laughing at their antics. "It's so good to see you again, my boy! Didn't know when you were gonna come back, for a few days, I didn't think these two would ever stop arguing about how best to bring you back!" Gramps gestured at the two girls sitting on either side of his legs on the bed, smiling so wide with their eyes shining so brightly… He had never seen either of them looking this way at _ANYBODY_ let alone him.

"That's right!" Tron said, holding her finger in the air closing her eyes in mock seriousness. "But don't think I have forgotten a single CENT of how much it cost us to bring you back down, you are going to owe me for the rest of your LIFE, Megaman!" Tron laughed a huge laugh, clearly on the brink of dancing around the little room in triumph.

Ira attacked him from the side, giving him a huge bear hug that knocked the wind out of him, crushing him with a huge kiss right on his cheek. "I'm so glad you are ok! We've been waiting AGES for you to wake up!"

Megaman turned to this new voice, not quite placing it, but instantly recognized the girl as soon as he looked at her.

"IRA! Is that really you? How… What… When did you get tangled up in this mess!" Megaman laughed.

"I went with Roll and Tron to rescue you! Who knows what would have happened if I wasn't around to save them!" She grinned a mischievous grin, as Tron pounced at her.

"I'm pretty sure I'M the one who did all the saving, you second rate digger!"

"As if! If you call sitting in your mech all day drinking tea while we run around risking life and limb!"

They both fought over the area next to Megaman's bed, as Teisel put his head in his hands at his ridiculous sister's crazy mood, and Sera and Yuna stepped back slightly to allow the combatants to continue.

Megaman finally turned from the fight, with a smile on his face, thinking about how cute these girls were, and looked to the other girl still sitting on the bed to his right. Roll was still slightly bandaged on her side, sitting in cute comfortable new red sweats Gramps went out and bought her in town while she was resting. She was staring right into his eyes, and her tears fell down her face unashamed.

"Roll…" Megaman said softly, smiling his half smile like he always did when he thought about her. "I knew you would find me… I always believed in you…"

Roll held back a sob. Tron and Ira stopped wrestling after Tron hurt her arm slightly, it still being hurt and all, and turned to watch this exchange, seeing more than just common courtesy twinkling dangerously between their eyes.

"I… I… I thought I was… going to lose you again… I would never leave you alone like that Megaman…" Roll said so quietly, they almost couldn't hear her, but Megaman hung on every word. He reached forward and hugged her gently, and she returned the hug warmly.

_He's here… He's finally here, with me…_

Tron broke the moment up quite spectacularly by "accidentally" hitting the bed control, releasing the catch holding the top end of the bed up, and sending Megaman crashing backwards down flat onto the bed.

"Oops! Sorry!" Tron sneered at Roll, who glared back at her pointedly.

_No way is she stealing him from me this time!_ Tron thought to herself.

"I'm glad to see you are on the way to becoming fully functional once again." Sera said, breaking the tension between the two girls.

Megaman looked at the two mother units, who had sat down on Roll's vacated bedside, who both looked at him, looking none the worse for wear for their endeavor upon Elysium. He always did seem to get the worst of everything, didn't he?

He smiled warmly at him, but suddenly felt a pang deep down in the pit of his stomach…

_Don't trust them…_

His smile faltered, something that wasn't quite missed by Yuna, who looked at him curiously.

"What's wrong Megaman?"

"N.. Nothing…" Megaman said quickly… "I just… wanted to know how long I've been out! We are kind of working on borrowed time now!"

Everyone looked at Megaman strangely, though he wasn't sure why. He obviously didn't remember that only the three of them were in on the incredible danger that they were in, and just assumed they knew better.

"How long?" Megaman asked again, when everyone seemed to think he had gone slightly crazy in the past few seconds….

"Only two days…" Roll answered him finally, "don't worry Megaman, it hasn't been too long… But what do you mean 'borrowed time'?"

It all came back to Megaman in a flash…

"You… you haven't told any of them?" Megaman asked Yuna and Sera incredulously. It was all he had thought about since learning that the planet was doomed to destruction, he figured that they would have been trying to stop this crisis as soon as they had discovered that everyone was going to be alright…

"Megaman, we haven't really filled them in on everything yet, we were waiting for you to wake up."

Megaman was slightly perturbed, but calmed back down. "I understand… I'm sorry… I guess I've just been worrying so much lately, I've kind of changed a bit, haven't I?" Megaman asked jokingly, rubbing the back of his neck while smiling sheepishly.

"What's going on? What haven't we been told?" Bleucher asked from the front of the room, clearly demonstrating to the two Mother Units that the time had come to fill him in quickly, or he was going to have to end their little "truce".

"Shouldn't we wait until you are feeling a bit…"

"No…" Megaman said, shaking his head… "We don't have time for that!"

Tron and Ira looked at each other, confused, while Teisel and Bon looked at the boy in the bed like he had gone completely round the bend.

"Hey! Megaman! Don't you know what's going on! Your BACK, everything is FINE, we are RICH again! What on earth are you talking about? I think we all deserve a little bit of a vacation now, don't you say? I'm tired of explosions for a little while…" Teisel said, holding his head back and laughing at his little joke. When no one joined in, he quieted back down. "Don't you think you should rest for a bit? We didn't plan on spending that much to bring you down just so you can get all paranoid on us!"

Yuna spoke up to the crowd before Megaman could answer. "I think it's time that we discuss a little bit more about what has been happening to the world, and what needs to be done."

Teisel sat back down, grumbling something about "beach days" and "cruise vacations".

After Teisel stopped mumbling dark things to himself, the room became quiet… It seemed, at last, everyone would know the truth.

Yuna spoke; "As you are all now aware, Elysium, what people here call the second moon, was created by us to control the planet and to live far away from the dangers that the planet provided. Of course, when I say dangers, I don't actually mean people. Elysium was created to escape from an even bigger threat that lives underneath the surface now… in what you now refer to as ruins. You see, long before Ancients were around, there was something called the "Elder System". Truly, the whole world was controlled by machines. In the end, mankind as it had existed fought against these monsters and attempted to reclaim the planet for their own…"

Megaman literally almost growled aloud at her explanation. "Yuna. Tell the truth…" he said dangerously.

Yuna was taken aback. She would have assumed that he, of all people, would have understood that she was attempting to protect them from the horrible truth. "Megaman… I don't really know if we need to tell them everything, if everyone found out, it would probably be catastrophic…"

Barrel and Bleucher looked at each other gravely, fearing the worst. Bleucher actually responded. "I had actually planned for that. If you don't mind, Mistress Sera, Yuna, if you could come with us. We wanted to keep most of the secrets of Elysium out of the prying ears of the public, and with all the attention that this has been getting, we don't want to cause any alarm. If you could follow us back to the Sulphur Bottom II, you can explain everything there, this is much too public of a place."

Megaman looked outraged. "We can't just keep this bottled up! People NEED to know!" He was outraged. This was no time for being careful! As far as he was concerned, the more people that know about it, the faster a solution can be found. If everyone on the planet was working together to save it, who knows what they could accomplish!

Megaman looked at Sera, about to voice this opinion, when he was taken aback by her chilling demeanor.

Sera looked at Megaman straight in his eyes. "Don't worry, we will be back. Remember, Megaman, what I said before? About the true danger of the Elder System?"

Megaman thought about it, and suddenly Sera's words filled his head again…

"_Someone, or something, has realized that Elysium has been destroyed. The Elder System did not reactivate of its own accord. Something is driving these relics back into existence, and it's obvious that whatever this person or thing wants, is not good, and has its own agenda."_

"Yeah… You're right… don't want too many people knowing…" Megaman said through the fog of fear that had enveloped him briefly after the chilling words had played through his mind.

"WHAT? But we need to hear too!" Ira said, gesturing at herself impatiently.

"There will be a time for that, but right now, none of you can leave the hospital, so it will just have to wait…" Bleucher said.

Tron stood up in a huff, looking at the group of men standing by the door. "No! You can't keep me out of this, we worked too long and hard just to be treated like children! The least you can do is treat us like adults! Honestly, you think we are just going to sit here and twiddle our thumbs? You must be crazy!"

Teisel, who saw the outraged looks of the two old fuddie duddies next to him, spoke up to his sister, knowing how best to calm her down.

"Heh heh, don't worry sis, we will fill you in on EVERYTHING later, cause the only reason we are doing it like this is to keep OTHER people's noses out of our business! You wouldn't want everyone to know about a huge treasure now would you?"

Tron shook her head, about to protest, but Teisel cut her off.

"Well from the sounds of this, there could be BIG treasure in store here, so let's keep our heads down; It's the Bonne Way!" Teisel said, giving her a little wink.

Tron sat down on the side of the bed, looking out the window. "Fine Teisel. But you better fill me in on everything, or I'll give you a matching set…" as she raised her fist in the air, gesturing towards his other uninjured eye, with a look that seemed to be more of a promise than a glare.

Teisel backed out of the room slowly, with a slight smile on his face, gesturing for Bon to follow.

"If you would…" Bleucher said, gesturing towards the door.

Yuna and Sera nodded, standing up to follow the grown-ups out of the room.

Gramps looked back at them after Teisel and Bon walked out of the room, while the rest of them stayed behind.

"Megaman, I know that whatever this is is important, so don't say anything that doesn't need to be said, alright? We know what we are doing…"

Megaman nodded back, but his face almost betrayed what he was really thinking.

Barrell's mustache bristled a little bit… "mmmmm….", but he closed the door behind him.

Roll, Ira, and Tron turned from the door, and looked at Megaman in a little bit of awe. He seemed to have grown up so much since they had seen him last.

Megaman, however, was not about to let the grown-ups treat them this way. After all, hadn't it been because of this little group of 17 years old that the entire world had been completely flipped upside down? He knew he had to fill them in.

"Listen… I know that they don't want me to say anything, but obviously I trust all of you enough to let you in on the secret, ok?"

Ira was beside herself with joy. It was almost as if no time had passed between them. She was still the little girl in the wheelchair, listening to Megaman's stories while he visited her in the hospital. She felt quite proud to be in this group of strong, independent youths, and she knew that she had really earned her place in being there…

"You can tell us anything, Megaman, you know that…" Roll said quietly.

_My feelings for him will have to wait, this really isn't the time… _Roll thought to herself…

Tron, ironically was thinking something similar.

_As soon as we are alone, I should… tell him he's alright… that he isn't so bad after all… _Tron blushed deeply, but the expression was lost on the boy in front of her, who was about to speak.

"Ok look, I'll give you the short version, because I really shouldn't be telling you all of it right now, but it's something you need to hear. The ruins, everything underground, has started to reactivate…"

Ira looked confused, "Hadn't it always been active?"

Megaman looked at her. "No, it hasn't. You see, before Yuna and Sera and all those people were around, there were OTHER people, even older, and they were in charge around here. Yuna and Sera called them the Elder System. After I went up there to stop them from killing everybody, I shut down Elysium, and now, this older system has started to come alive again, and that can mean really serious problems for everybody!"

Roll bit her lip, thinking about a large Reaverbot army crashing through a city. "Well, we can't have that! How do we stop it?"

"That isn't the biggest problem Roll. The biggest problem is that after I turned Elysium off, it started to lose power, and now, if we don't do something fast, it's going to crash into the planet!" Megaman said, trying to keep his voice down.

Tron looked shocked, while Roll put her hands to her mouth. "You mean it's going to fall out of orbit? But that will destroy the whole planet!" Roll said through her fingers. "What can we do?"

Megaman looked between the three of them, and then looked down… "I'm not really sure… but I think I may know what may help us…

He reached over the side of the bed, to the pile of clothes that were lying there that the doctors had placed there upon arrival, and he shuffled them around…

"I heard the doctors talking when I was… well… recovering… They said that I was clutching this like my life depended on it, and they put it with my stuff…"

Finally, he pulled back, holding the piece of machinery that was still such a mystery to him out in his hand.

"What is it Megaman?" Roll said, looking at the twisted piece of metal curiously.

Megaman paused for just a few seconds, and responded…

"Well… I guess to tell you… I'll have to tell you about… Me…" He looked at them sadly… "The old me. Even Sera and Yuna don't know this, so please, don't tell anyone… I really don't know what to do about it, but I know I want to tell you all, because you have been there with me through a lot, even if you were trying to kill me at the time…" Megaman said, smiling crookedly at Tron, who flushed again…

_WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, GET A GRIP! _Tron tiraded at herself.

"Yeah well, you started it…" Tron muttered, trying to say something clever when all she really wanted to do was kiss him. It was almost like she didn't even care about the world ending! She really had LOST it since the rocket, hadn't she?

"The… _Old_ you?" Ira asked, a little surprised… What was he talking about?"

Megaman smiled at Ira, glad she was there just as much as the other two. "Well.. I….uh.. You see, I'm… Sort of… not human…."

Ira, as well as Roll and Tron, looked totally stunned by this.

"Not human? What are you talking about, Megaman? Of course you are human! I grew up with you, lived with you…" Roll said, in a defiant tone…

"Well… ok… Yes… I'm not really too sure about it myself, so let me try to explain. I am a sort of… artificial human… I was created by the people on Elysium just like Yuna and Sera…. But even that doesn't seem to be true anymore… Apparently I'm very very old, I may have originally been a part of the world before the water…" Megaman said, trailing off into his own thoughts without an explanation.

"The… Water? You mean the Endless Ocean?" Tron said, trying to keep up.

"Yes…" Megaman said, coming back to reality with a crash when he was reminded suddenly of the reason why the water was there now, and what it had cost…

"It's a very long story, I'm sure Yuna or Sera will fill you all in on the details later, cause I don't know if I'm the right person to explain it all, but I'll tell you what is important. The old Elder system, the people who made the Reaverbots; they were, apparently, very dangerous. They lived together with people on this planet, and apparently for a while that seemed to work. But apparently at some point, some of these Elders apparently completely went rogue, started attacking people, and at one point even tried to kill everybody by sending a space station hurtling at the planet to try and blow it up…"

"Sounds familiar…" Ira said. Megaman stopped talking and looked at her… He never really thought about it before, but that really did seem to be a rather odd coincidence. How is it that now, after all this time, Elysium was on a collision course for Terra, just as the old space colony had been thousands of years ago…

He pushed the thought from his mind. HE was the one who had caused this mess by stopping Elysium, not some long forgotten terrorist Reaverbot.

"I guess so… so yeah… um… right, well, people started to think that maybe they should try to get off the planet to get away from their issues, and so they made Elysium… In fact, to help build it, they also built something else: Refractors."

All three of them, with their lives so incredibly attached to the subject of Refractors, were completely hit by this news.

Roll was the first to speak… "You mean… Every refractor, all the ruins… they were… created by these people? But… That explains so much! So many people have been asking that question for years, this is amazing!"

"No. It's not." Megaman said, and his tone stopped Roll in her tracks. Completely without thinking, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Realizing what she had done, she blushed deeply and faked a cough, giving sidelong glances at the other two girls, who still seemed to be too enthralled by the news to care too much.

Megaman pressed on. "That wasn't what they were made for… They were… a weapon… all together they created a massive energy surge that was designed to… well…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

As Megaman began to explain about the countless refractors below the surface, and their amazing power levels, a large man stood by the door, apparently stopping to tie his shoe laces. A nurse walked by without giving him a glance, and that was all he needed. He pressed his ear against the door softly, in case the door was not all the way closed, and listened in on the conversation.

"Refractors… Millions…. Huge power… Yuna…. Endless supply… Used as weapons…."

Red stood up, having heard enough. He KNEW it, of course, there was no WAY that they could just come back down from space empty handed! That blue kid finally discovered the actual whereabouts of the Mother Lode!

"So it DOES exist!" Red said softly to himself, thinking quickly. He needed to work fast, and he needed an angle on these saps. If he could keep tabs on these ingrates, he could follow them to the treasure and take everything for himself!

He began to walk down the hallway, quickly shoving past a few orderlies who gave him venomous looks. But who cares? He was going to have more money and power than he could have ever DREAMED of, and he felt his mouth salivate at the thought. He was so distracted that he ran directly into a doctor carrying a folder, accidentally falling down and scattering its contents all over the floor.

"Watch it!" The doctor said exasperatedly, bending over to pick up the file. Red was about to walk off, when a picture on the ground changed his mind. It was a picture of that woman… The Caskett lady… Roll's mother…

Red smiled to himself, with a gleam in his eyes, and he stooped down to help the doctor pick up the file.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I was just in such a hurry, please forgive me!" He said in a convincing tone. "I was just looking for Mrs. Caskett, have you seen her?"

The doctor looked up from the folder which was almost entirely cleaned up, and smiled at him. "Oh yes, Matilda. I'm actually on my way to her room at this moment, if you would like…?"

"Oh yes, please!"

They began to walk back down the way Red had come, and soon enough, they both entered the room softly. Banner and Matilda were sitting next to each other on the bed. Holding hands and talking.

"And that's when Yuna and I separated…" Matilda stopped and looked up. She smiled at the doctor who had led Red into the room.

"Hello Doctor!"

"Ahh! I see you are doing very well Mrs. Caskett, obviously almost ready to go, I think. Just here for a few check ups…"

The doctor began speaking to Banner, who asked how Matilda was doing, and Matilda looked at Red who looked back…

She was talking about someone named Yuna too… Red thought to himself… It seems like they were all in on this, but he didn't know who the man was sitting next to her. He wasn't on the rocket, but he could be a problem all the same…

"Hello! Who are you?" Matilda said with an airy smile, obviously in a euphoric mood.

Red stepped into the room, his boots clumping on the ground. "The name's Red…"

At the sound of that name, the doctor looked up, startled. It was THE Red? Half of the people that came into this hospital usually had something to do with him!

The doctor began to speak, but Red jerked his head towards the door, eyeing him closely. The doctor retreated, obviously not willing to step in on this. He didn't want to be the next person in a hospital gown!

"Well…uh… Red, was it? What brings you here?" Banner said, obviously in as good of a mood as the blonde woman on the bed. He went over and sat next to her again, putting his arm around her.

"Ahh… I see…" Red said to himself softly, then spoke up so both of them could hear him. "I just wanted to welcome both of you to Klickelan Island. I don't know if you have heard about me, but I really run the show here, and I just wanted to say how happy I am that you made it back down to us safely Mrs. Caskett!" Red began, unsure of exactly how to pull this one off. He knew that he only needed to do one thing. He needed to get this blasted family away from that prodigal digger, or else he might never be able to get to the treasure. He had heard the stories. That Megaman Volnutt had single handedly saved the world, and rescued countless islands from pirates. Not only random ruffians like that Bola and Klaymoor, but was even able to take down the Bonnes! Of course, now that they were friends he wasn't entirely convinced that that was all skill, but he sure as heck had heard about them taking down Loath! Loath had basically taught him everything he needed to know to be an Island Pirate. While Air Pirates were the scary, skilled ones, it takes a great deal of intelligence to take over an entire city! If they could take him down, and Megaman took THEM down, he didn't need that obstacle in his way. Either that, or cut him off from his support. Someone would make a mistake and lead him right to the Mother Lode!

"I don't mean to intrude upon the both of you, I just wished to cordially invite you both to a celebration of Roll's successful journey into the stars! I'm sure you are both very proud!"

Banner and Matilda looked at each other, and back at him. "Yes, of course we are, but we haven't even seen HER yet… I don't think we are quite ready for any parties quite yet, but I'm sure in a few days time, We would all be happy to accompany you!"

Red looked let down, "Oh… Of course… I had just assumed that you wouldn't want her to… Oh no, I see…"

Banner looked at Red… "Want her to... what?"

Red looked embarrassed, "Oh, no, I had just assumed that you would want to get out of this hospital and start your life back over with little miss Roll, and I just wanted to show you how wonderful of a place this could be for you, I would be so proud to have you all live here on my island!" Red said, looking as though this was just an innocent suggestion of a blustering mayor.

"Oh my… You are right! We are finally together again! We can settle down, finally lead a normal life!" Banner said, very excited at the prospect…

Matilda was, obviously, a little less enthusiastic about the future, as she knew all too well the danger that was lurking overhead. "Well, that sounds wonderful, but at the moment, Roll and Megaman need to recover, because we have some business we need to take care of first…"

Red looked surprised… "Megaman? I'm surprised, I would assume that you would attempt to put danger behind you, not invite it into your home."

Banner looked confused, but intrigued, but Matilda seemed to grow a bit darker at his words. "What are you trying to say, Mr. Red?"

"Well, I mean, I was just assuming that you would want Roll to finally become a normal girl. Hasn't she already suffered enough at your "apparent" loss? Everyone has heard the stories over and over on the news lately, since she began creating that rocket. How you two completely disappeared on Forbidden Island, never to return. She has devoted her whole life to finding you both, even recruiting a young boy into her troubles… I don't think she or you need anymore of that…"

"What are you talking about? My father found Megaman after he was…. Well… After we disappeared, what does he have to do with any of this?" Matilda said, and Banner was inclined to agree.

"Please, we just want to know what you mean…" Banner said politely.

Red sat down in the chair opposite the bed, it squeaking slightly under the pressure of the large man. "Oh I'm not saying anything bad! Don't think of it like that… It's just… Trouble seems to follow that boy around like a virus! Look at how many times he has been in danger, facing pirates, going into space, fighting off Reaverbots! I've heard Roll has been attacked on numerous occasions, but for what? To find you two, or even a treasure that doesn't even probably exist?" Red's hand twitched at that, and he looked carefully at Matilda's face to see any shade of recognition there… To his consternation, he found that she either knew nothing, or had quite a poker face… She knew about the treasure, but yet she wasn't thinking about it? Interesting…

Banner looked at Matilda, Red's words echoing in his mind. "He isn't wrong you know, honey… We've been in danger and fighting for so long now, Roll most of all. I'm proud of her, but I think maybe we should take a break from all of that…"

"We can't take a break, Banner! What are you saying? Our problems haven't just ENDED they've only just started!" Matilda said, clearly frustrated at herself for not explaining the situation to him earlier. But now, with this man in the room, it would be an impossibility. She was in agreeance with Yuna, obviously, that only the truly necessary should know about the plight that Terra was about to suffer, and this man was not one of the people who should know.

"No, I'm serious, Matilda… Look, I've been waiting too long for happiness, and I'm not going to let it pass through my fingers now when it's so close! To have you, and Roll, back in my life again… I can't even express to you how happy I am! Just think, I can work with Roll on brand new machines, she's so much smarter than me now anyway, we could be famous… Well, we already are famous! We could live such a happy life!"

"NO Banner! Stop it!" Matilda yelled suddenly, incredibly frustrated. "Look, there are things we need to take care of first, we don't have a lot of time now. Can you just trust me, please?"

"Of course I do… Matilda, but…"

"Pardon the interruption, Mr. Caskett, but I don't think that that would really be in the cards for you right now either…" Red said, cutting off their conversation, hoping to keep some space between them.

"What do you mean? You just said…!"

"I'm talking about Megaman, of course, Banner. I'm sure Roll has grown quite fond of him over these years, he must be like a brother to her now… But a dog is still a dog. A digger's life is never something we really want to choose for ourselves, but that boy has embraced it! Just look at all that she has done now because of him! Cavorting with pirates, flying to the moon! If he keeps this up, he's going to kill h…"

"ENOUGH! Get out of this room, now!" Matilda said, standing up suddenly. She knew for certain she could take this man down herself, even without her old Mother Unit powers. She had grown quite strong since having been rebuilt and trained by Yuna. She would not have this man come in and cause problems for them now. Who did he think he was, coming in here and trying to separate them!

"I'm sorry that I have upset you… Truly…" Red said, looking ashamed, and standing up to leave.

As he got to the door, he turned around and looked at Banner. "Just think about what I said. As long as you can't forget about the past, it will continue to haunt you, and he will be the death of her!"

"OUT!" Matilda screamed, picking up a nearby book to throw at him. He flapped into the door as it shut, and Banner went to pick it up. It was a religious text that the hospital kept in the rooms.

"That man is evil!" Matilda said, "No wonder his name is Red…!"

Banner quietly sat the book back on the side table from where she had grabbed it, and then sat back down in the chair across the bed, as Matilda continued to huff at the door in anger.

After she had calmed down, she looked back over to him, surprised to see that he was looking at her intently…

"What is it, Banner?" Matilda asked, unsure of the look on his face.

"All I've ever wanted, since I was found after Forbidden Island, was to have you back… To have Roll back... I dreamed every night that I would find you, that I would never leave either of you again… and the thought of losing you is more than I could bear…"

Matilda smiled softly at him… "Banner…"

"No… let me finish… Everything that I've ever wanted to come true finally has for me, beyond all hope or reason. It's as though I've been given a second chance. A chance not to screw this up. I was foolhardy and reckless…"

"I was too, Banner, I went with you!" Matilda said, no longer smiling.

"I know… but… how could we have left her, all those years ago? Did we think we were invincible? Did we really think that we would make it onto the island, become rich and famous, and just come back the next day as though nothing had happened? We ruined her life, Matilda… As plain as day…"

"No, Banner, you don't understand…"

"No, I really do… I know that you have been around this long, seeing the world through different eyes, but maybe that's why you aren't agreeing with me now… I think… I think Red was right…"

Matilda gasped… "Banner, no! You don't understand, please, I don't know what he wanted, but it couldn't have been anything good. That life he seemed to be offering you isn't going to happen!"

"You think he was lying? What possible reason could he have for that?"

"I…Well… No, I have no idea what he really wanted, and he may have just been trying to be accommodating, but the world as we know it is really going to…"

She stopped… She couldn't talk about this here… For all she knew, that man was standing outside the door, if anybody found out that the world was about to end, or that the seas would recede, bringing forth complete destruction, even BEFORE Elysium crashed onto the ground. She couldn't start a panic. They needed a plan, she couldn't just blurt it out…

"Banner…" She tried to continue… "Megaman is our only hope! We need him now more than ever! He has to help us! And I do mean us, we all need to help out, even Roll! And I'm sure she is more than willing!"

"I KNOW SHE WOULD BE!" Banner suddenly yelled, taking Matilda off guard. "Of course! Roll would go to the ends of the Earth to find him, and save him, fighting pirates and monsters and whatever nonsense is in this crazy world, but I've had enough! I've been ripped in half by Reaverbots, I know what they can do, and I'm sick to death of it all! That… boy… has turned our daughter into a… war engineer! Do you think that's what I would have wanted for her when I was a digger? Or you? Of course not! I wanted to settle down, finally gain back the sanity I had lost, and I'm not about to let that boy come anywhere near here and tear us back apart!"

After Banner was done, Matilda, with tears in her eyes, yelled back: "You're a fool if you think that he just using our daughter to be a digger. In case you have forgotten, it was MY DAD who raised him, taught him to be a digger, and he has been looking for us just as much as she has! He's had nothing to lose, but he's done nothing but be a complete hero to everyone he has met! Have you gone insane?"

"I don't doubt his heart, or his soul. He saved my life once as well… He's the one I thought could save everyone when no one else could. But now, I think it's time that we parted ways! He can go on being the hero, but he doesn't need to hurt anybody doing it, including our daughter."

Matilda had gone white with shock and rage. "You think we can just WALK AWAY! Tell him 'thank's for everything, see you later'? What kind of person have you become?"

Banner took his hands in hers, and she looked up at him. "All I want, Matilda, is to be happy with you, and I'm not going to let him get in our way."

Matilda pulled her hands away from his, looking out the window with a tear in her eyes.

"Fine…" Banner said finally. He got up to walk out of the room. "I know you are upset now, but I know that you will understand. I know you love me as much as I love you, and when Roll comes to visit, we will be there for her. We will be a family again, I promise, and when we are living the life I always wanted, then you won't be so mad at me anymore…"

Matilda ignored him, still looking out the window.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry… I love you…"

Matilda looked at his retreating form as it went out of the room…

"I love you too…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Ahh, Mr. Caskett! How nice to see you…!"

"I was wondering what this island has to offer a new blossoming family… Mr. Red!"

"Ahhhh, Excellent…..!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx


	12. Chapter 10:Explanations and Enigmas

**CHAPTER 10: EXPLANATIONS, ENIGMAS, AND ENORMOUS PARTIES!**

"Oh my…"

"We have to stop it!"

"What are we going to do!"

All three girls chorused out, all with panicked looks on their faces, and an eagerness to act that Megaman found comforting. As he was describing the history of the planet, and the Carbon Reinitialization, Ira went completely berserk and had to be calmed down before he could continue.

("I CAN'T BELIEVE… HOW COULD… WHAT THE F…!")

After finally getting through his explanation to them, telling them about the Refractors, he took a deep breath.

"That really isn't the worst part…really, it's what's happening now that could really be the worst…"

"I just can't believe that everything we know… Is a lie…?" Roll said softly. Her eyes were cast down on the floor, thinking hard. While the more pressing issue at hand was obviously Elysium dooming them all, she couldn't get over the planet's history…and what had happened to bring them all here. She wanted to know more, but she didn't know what that knowledge would give her. For some reason, deep down, she was quite scared to know.

Ira seemed to have recovered from her state of shock. "It all makes sense now though! The Old City in Kattlelox, all the unexplained ruins…if people ever found out that we were…fabricated…this is unbelievable!"

"…Please… This is important…" Megaman said, almost pleading.

The girls didn't interrupt, completely enraptured by his voice, and the quavering tone it was giving off.

"Elysium is dying. When I went up there to stop Sera from reactivating the Carbon Reinitialization Program, I ended up shutting down the whole system, and now, it's running on emergency power. But it isn't going to last…" He stopped, and the pregnant silence said everything he needed to say.

Roll and Tron gasped and looked at each other in complete shock, completely understanding where this was going, while Ira looked at the two engineers in complete exasperation.

"I know I'm apparently the retard of the group, so could someone PLEASE bring me back up to pace?"

Tron laughed humorlessly, while Roll decided to speak up. "A moon sized satellite that couldn't hold itself above us will eventually be sucked in by our gravitational pull, and Elysium will hit us. It would completely destroy the planet, and everyone…would…" She let the threat hang in the air above them, mirroring the situation at hand.

All three girls huddled close around his bed then, but it wasn't long for Ira to stand up and pace the room.

"This is crazy! Why is it that we finally should have some down time, when all of the sudden we are thrown right back into the midst of everything again!"

"The important thing now though," Tron interrupted, putting her finger in the air to emphasize the point, "Is finding a way to stop Elysium from crashing into us! I knew being friends with you two was only going to lead to trouble!"

Megaman seemed to take those words as a barb to the heart. He always knew that his life was a dangerous one, and he couldn't help but think that he was dragging all of them into another wild adventure that really could end up hurting someone…and whether or not he wanted to admit it, he didn't want to see Tron hurt any more than he wanted Roll or Ira hurt. He cared about them all too much.

"Well… Tron… You don't have to help me. You've already done so much…"

Tron waved an airy hand at Megaman's pathetic attempts to dissuade her. "Yeah yeah, cut to the part where I tell you you're stupid for thinking I wouldn't help, and the simple fact that you are pathetic without me, and then we can discuss payment options…" She looked at him pointedly over her shoulder, slightly swaying her hips back and forth, while Roll and Ira fumed at her from the bed.

Megaman blushed, and looked at Ira, with a look that conveyed a similar sentiment to the one he had for Tron.

Of course, Ira shook her head. "There's no way you are keeping me out of this one. This time, I'll be right there beside you, shooting down some Elders!" Ira said, fist pumping in excitement.

Megaman looked at Roll, who brushed his hair away from his eyes and looked at him steadily.

"Megaman…"

Megaman felt a little shaky inside. She had never looked at him like this before…

"…Roll?"

Roll suddenly remembered that this wasn't the time for such things, so she changed the subject to the first thing she could think of.

"I'm really sorry Megaman…. I'm afraid…I sold all your equipment! Please forgive me!"

Megaman was so taken aback, he started laughing uproariously. "Hahaha, I figured as much, I know that that rocket couldn't have been free…thank you. To all three of you. I don't know what happened down here while I was away, but I promise, I won't leave you again."

All three of them nodded and smiled, but none said out loud how much that one sentence had touched each of them.

Of course, Tron was the first to break the silence.

"So what's the plan, you were saying something about that?" She gestured towards the machinery still in Megaman's hand.

He looked down at it. Finally, he had come to the part he was dreading…

"Well…while I was in Elysium, I kind of… found this. It had a message on it addressed to me…"

Megaman still wasn't entirely sure how the object came into his possession, or what it could possibly mean.

"Creepy…" Ira said, interrupting unhelpfully.

Megaman kept going. "I was in…like…a trance. I don't really remember much about it. All I know is that I thought I was gone for ten minutes, but I was gone for a very long time. I wandered into a place in Elysium that, according to Yuna and Sera, didn't even exist, and when I was there I found a hole in a wall…so I reached in and grabbed this."

" _It's what makes me special_…"

Megaman wasn't sure what made him say that last part, but he knew somewhere deep down that it must be true.

They all looked down at the piece of metal and Megaman continued.

"When I finally played the message, it said it was allowed for me only, and when Yuna and Sera left so I could see what it was… It was…" He paused.

"...It was what?" Tron said, as she stopped pacing, as the mood had suddenly become very tense.

"It was… Me. The old me, but not the one that Sera and Yuna knew. It's why I'm not too sure of anything anymore. It… I… said my name was X, and it was my final words, I guess. X said that he was on a mission, and that while he knew that he would be gone by the time I saw the message… What he would become would see it, and continue his work. My work. X had undergone some sort of…unit conversion. That was what I think he said that it was. I became Megaman Trigger from then on."

"On Elysium, that part of me, this "Megaman Trigger", was apparently some kind of top soldier, an elite killing machine designed to kill the other machines when they malfunctioned or…or went against the system. From what I could tell from what X had said, he…well, I…made it clear that that was pretty much what I did beforehand. It seems like I've just always been destined to hurt things, haven't I?" Megaman said sadly, in a pitiful attempt to try to lighten the mood slightly. Ira and Tron reached out and touched him softly, but Roll sat back and pondered the situation.

"Well how did he want you to carry out the mission if he didn't say what you were supposed to be doing? And what does this have anything to do with Elysium crashing into Terra now?"

Megaman was a little surprised. Instead of being shocked, or being slightly afraid of his story, and what he had become, he found that all three seemed to just take it in stride. He had been particularly worried that somehow Roll wouldn't understand, or that they would all be scared of him, but they seemed to just…not care.

"Roll…uh…well… I'm not entirely sure, but…"

Roll looked at him with her bright green eyes. "What is it Megaman?"

Megaman didn't quite know what to say. "I was…well…I was expecting you to be a little bit more…I don't know…"

Roll seemed to understand what he meant, while Tron rolled her eyes and began pacing again and Ira sat back in her chair, smiling.

Roll spoke up, "Megaman…it doesn't matter who you were or what you did before, or even now. It never did, you have to understand that. Who you are and what you are today is all that ever really mattered to me, or to Gramps, or to anybody. I've always believed in you, and you don't need to worry about me thinking you are some old horrible monster, cause, to me…you are so much more than that."

Megaman looked at her softly. Did that mean…?

Roll seemed to realize the turn the conversation had taken, and looked at the other two girls in fright. "All of us think the world of you, Megaman. We wouldn't want you to be any different, and nothing changes that, right?"

Tron smiled, nodding her head. "Of course. If you weren't a complete jerk, shooting at me and generally getting in my way, I don't know WHAT I would do…" Tron said sardonically. She didn't quite hide the blush, however.

Ira chimed in as well: "Nobody here could deny how wonderful you are, Megaman, and come on, finding out you were a big bad Reaverbot killer is basically just saying what you are today…to be honest, I'm not surprised at all, and really, you shouldn't be either! Haha!" She laughed a little at that.

"If that really was his mission to begin with…" Roll said, looking at the laughing girl.

"Well, actually, he did say something about what that mission was." Megaman diverted back to the original topic. "X was convinced that it was all connected, but at that point he wasn't very clear. He said that it may even span back to the beginning of our history…X's and mine." Megaman said. "Apparently, the key is unlocking this thing's secret."

He threw it onto the bed, and all three leaned in to inspect it.

"X said that it would unlock my old… potential? Or something? I don't know, but he said one thing for sure. He wanted me to find something called a Maverick Code. Three of them. He said that it was the only thing that could stop Elysium…to uncover the truth about everything, and to find some form of cannon, to hopefully destroy Elysium before it hits the ground."

"A…Maverick Code?" Ira said thoughtfully. "What is that?"

"I don't know. Maybe Yuna and Sera would know, but I… I'm not sure if I want to ask them."

Tron and Roll looked at him strangely. "Why?"

"I…I…well, X just told me not to trust anyone." Megaman said lamely. He knew there was much more to the story, but there was no point in creating too much distrust between his friends.

"I would assume that means us as well?" Tron said smugly, obviously just being her difficult self.

Megaman smiled at her, and she blushed again.

Roll and Ira finally reached out and began to turn the thing in their hands slowly. Ira, knowing she was way out of her element, just handed it over to Roll, who took it and studied it closely.

After a few seconds, Tron decided to look at it as well, every once in a while passing a knowing look at Roll, or a bewildered stare.

After a few minutes of silence, (and not being able to take it anymore) Ira blurted out "Well? Anything interesting? What is it?"

"It's…well…it's complete and utter genius is what it is." Roll said simply. Tron nodded her head vigorously, her rivalry with the blonde girl completely forgotten for the moment.

"Can you imagine the flux augmentation, the energy fields…who built this? I honestly am at a loss for words…"

Megaman was just as confused as Ira, from the look on her face, and decided to ask: "In something we could understand, please?"

Roll decided to explain. "This thing, in the simplest terms I could possibly state, is a weapon module. But it's not just a weapon module. It's…wow. It looks like it's some type of ridiculously powerful weapon conversion unit. This thing can actually analyze a weapon type and create a newer, better version. The amount of energy it can manipulate is impossible to understand…I don't think I even understand it. This part here…I have no idea. Can you make out what this part is?"

"No…" Tron said, with a look of concentration. Megaman looked at what she was gesturing at.

"That looks like a genetic sample." Megaman said to himself. "Like the Master's…"

Roll and Tron looked at him in total shock. "A…genetic sample?"

"Oh… Yeah. Well, I don't really know for sure. I know that the last thing I did as Megaman Trigger was to fight against Elysium, and it had a lot to do with the Master's genetic sample. It was the key to the carbon reinitialization program."

Ira looked at the other two girls. "That's what Yuna had said. He was locked into that stasis chamber after he fought Sera, right?"

Roll nodded, but Tron asked, "What does it do?"

Megaman shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. But this thing doesn't really look like that. It's bigger than what the Master gave me. Maybe it's more than one…?"

A light shone in Roll's brain, and a tremor of excitement washed over her.

Who had BUILT this thing? It was inconceivable…and yet…

"Maybe this thing doesn't just convert weapon types. Maybe it even takes weapon SKILLS…"

Tron looked at her dubiously, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, it looks like maybe this thing learns new abilities from genetic samples, and is able to convert them. This is all way too much for me…I have no idea what this thing is capable of…" Roll said truthfully.

"That's not all," Tron said. "I've worked on AI for computers before to make my Servbots, and I've seen some advanced things in my life. But this thing… its core…I… I don't know what it is. Do you, Blondie?"

"No. This is something that's beyond anything we could possibly dream up. I'm serious, this may be the single greatest technological accomplishment I've ever seen, and that's just the weapons part…I'm fairly certain whatever that core is, it's even more astounding.

Roll and Tron set it on the bed, and they all stared at it in awe.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this thing is thinking right now, as we speak." Tron said, without looking up, surprising both Roll and Ira.

"But…didn't you say that that was impossible?" Ira said.

"I did…until about three seconds ago." Tron said truthfully. "I didn't even believe that Yuna and Sera were truly sentient. But seeing this…if this is even older than THEY are, then I've got to say it has to be possible."

Tron looked at the piece of metal grumpily, seeing it as the ultimate display of failure for her mechanical skills. "Stupid piece of junk…"

Everyone else laughed a little at that, making her sulk more. But then Roll stopped laughing and looked at Megaman.

"Well, I don't know what it is, but if it's supposed to help, then I know what we need to do next."

Megaman looked at her intensely, causing her hands to shake slightly in happiness which she quickly suppressed. "What is it Roll?"

"You need to put it on, of course!" She smiled.

Megaman looked at her in surprise. "Put it on?"

"Yes! If it's some form of weapon module, then we do the same thing we do with anything else that we find in a hole in a wall in a ruin! We make it into a usable weapon!" Roll said excitedly.

"Sounds great, but…how do I put it on?"

Tron and Roll looked down at it again, and a slow smile spread across Roll's face. "I'll get back to you on that one, Megaman, hehehe…"

Megaman laughed too. Then he suddenly remembered "Roll! Your mother! Is she alright? Have you been to check on her?"

Roll looked excited and worried at the same time. "No, I haven't been to see her yet, I've just now been able to get up, but this was just so big I had to hear about it! …But I think I'm going to go visit her now, if that's alright with you…" Roll said, with butterflies in her stomach.

Her mother. Here. After 17 years…

"Of course Roll! I want to go with you!" Megaman said, attempting to get up, but being forced back down by Ira, who said "You can visit with her all you like when you are actually better, but for right now you need to rest, ok Megaman? I don't want you to pop a stitch or something…"

Megaman sighed. "Fiiine…go on without me Roll, we will be waiting here for you."

Roll stood up. After an entire life of searching, it was finally over. "I'll be back soon Megaman, ok?"

"Of course, Roll…"

Tron and Ira grumbled a bit at the looks being shared between the two of them. One thing neither of them had with him was a real history, and they were quite upset about it at this point.

Matilda was sitting back in her bed, waiting for Banner to come back so that they could go see their daughter together. After around 20 minutes, Banner came back in, looking to be in a bit of a better mood since leaving. "Hopefully having gotten those stupid thoughts out of his head" Matilda thought bitterly. As such, she was planning on telling him everything right now, as she was sure he would be able to help them all out immensely with his digging skills and mechanical know-how.

"Banner… I need to tell you something about Elysium. It's really important."

"Of course, Matilda…" Banner said, when suddenly the door started to open slowly.

There, in the doorway, was one of the most beautiful girls in the world, but to them, all they saw was their entire life staring back at them through the doorway.

Roll couldn't move. She just stared. It was Joe…with her mother…but…

Suddenly, everything fell into place as neatly as a puzzle piece.

"…..Dad? Mom?" Roll stuttered, so softly it was barely a whisper.

"ROLL!" They both yelled, tears streaming down their faces.

Then Roll began to cry. She ran over to them, and they all embraced each other for the first time in17 years.

"…Sorry to keep you waiting so long." Banner said softly into his only daughter's hair, as he held her close.

Matilda was so happy, she completely forgot her explanation to Banner about the doom of Elysium.

And Roll…well, her demeanor completely shattered, and she sobbed unashamedly in their arms.

Finally, after so long, she was home again.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Aero began to neatly fold up her hospital gown, as she had been discharged earlier in the day. After being told she was going to be alright, her thoughts began to run wild. Red had come back into her room a little earlier, puffing in excitement, and telling her that if she was smart, she could leave the island and do as she pleased, but didn't elaborate upon the subject. While she wasn't entirely sure what he meant, her imagination had begun to take control. Finally, she may be able to finally leave this godforsaken island and travel the world? Of course, having come to this wonderful idea, she decided that her first order of business was to go down and introduce herself to quite possibly the youngest group of total heroes she had ever heard of, and she was a little nervous about the prospect. She still didn't know what Red had in store for them, but she knew that whether or not she wanted to do it was irrelevant.

She wasn't quite comfortable with the situation. Somehow she knew it wasn't going to be as easy as it all sounded…

She walked to the door, about to turn the handle, when suddenly the door burst open and she was looking at Red himself. Surprised, she stepped back a few steps, allowing him some room to enter, and also to keep herself out of arms reach. She had the cuts and bruises from his raging outbursts to prove this to be a wise decision.

"Aero, come on, we need to step it up a little here. Things are all going according to plan, but we need to get moving…"

"What plan…?" Aero asked, not really expecting an answer. And sure enough:

"Shut your mouth, you have work to do. Remember, I want you to be their very new best friend, you understand me? I want them to trust you, so maybe they'll let you come along for the ride, if you catch my meaning…"

"No, I don't, but I can certainly do my best."

"Don't do YOUR best, YOUR best isn't good enough." Red said in an exasperated tone. Aero puffed out her cheeks in anger, but let it subside.

"What exactly is it that you want me to do, here?"

Red looked at her seriously. "These heroes have apparently gotten a hold of some valuable information for the Red Digger Syndicate. I'm starting to think that maybe I can use the fact that they landed on top of you to my advantage. Maybe we can blackmail them into letting us in on their little adventures. What I mean by THAT you don't need to know yet. Just do what I say, and I promise, after this, you will be completely repaid in my eyes, and you can ruin your life however you see fit, understand?"

Aero was completely floored. Was he serious? Was this honestly all she needed to do to be free of this Hell? She could finally live the life she had always dreamed of, AND be friends with the greatest group of young adventurers the world had really ever seen?

"I'm in…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Well, Roll and I will get started trying to figure out how to get this thing working for you, but honestly, I don't know how long it will take…" Tron said, looking at the Weapon dubiously.

Ira wasn't as interested in that. "Megaman, something doesn't seem right…"

Megaman looked at her seriously. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know you told us about why the Ancients on Elysium used the refractors to cover the planet in water, which I still can't believe…but why? Why would they just destroy everything, killing all of those Elders? To be honest, it seems like we are missing a big part of the story here… And then why would they kill all those Carb… people?" Ira said, looking a little confused and slightly frightened at the prospect. "I'm starting to think that we are delving into something that goes well beyond anything the world has seen before. I'm not entirely sure we can handle this alone…"

Megaman looked at her strangely. Ira had always had a way of knowing exactly how a situation presented itself, and she always was able to see right through him when he went to visit her in the hospital. She could actually tell how worried he was then, and it was the reason she decided to help him by giving him the Flower Pearl for his Buster Gun. She was much more shrewd than she let on.

"You may be right, Ira, but I don't think there is really anybody else who can help us."

As if on cue, as he finished saying those words, the door to the room slowly opened with a few knocks, and a young girl stepped into the room. She had pink hair, a Digger's tunic, and what appeared to be a sunny disposition, as she seemed to dance into the room, but stopped suddenly at the sight of the three figures in the room.

Aero stopped in the doorway, just short of entering, because there, on the bed, was probably the cutest boy who ever lived.

She had seen pictures of Megaman Volnutt, before, usually accompanied by large explosions or distance shots taken from airships. But now…she was completely astounded. She looked at the other two figures in the room. The infamous Tron Bonne, with her trademark attire and wicked good looks, and the relatively new-to-the-scene Ira, the first space digger!

She suddenly felt extremely out of place.

"Uh… Hi there! I was…just… uh…seeing if you were, you know… doing alright…" She mentally tiraded herself.

'Wow, that was slick! You are such an IDIOT!'

Megaman took the girl in the doorway in for a moment before answering. She seemed to have rocked back onto her heels, as though seeing the three of them looking at her had affected her physically. He was a little surprised by this. Were they really all that famous now?

"I'm fine, but what was your name?" Megaman answered kindly.

"My name…? My name's Aero!" She said, smiling sweetly.

Tron looked her up and down, smiling to herself. "Ahh, here she is in the flesh! I don't know if anyone had told you yet, Megaman, but SHE is the girl we accidentally landed on in our disastrous re-entry. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Tron said, laughing slightly.

Ira smacked her with a pillow. "Tron, shut up! You seriously have no respect, do you? How are you, Aero? I hope we didn't hurt you too badly! We were all planning on coming to visit you today, I'm glad to see you are up and about."

Aero smiled and flexed one of her arms, displaying her good health, "Nah! I'm made of stronger stuff than that. It would take more than just one ship falling on this hard head to take ME down!" Aero said, laughing. "Plus, knowing that I was hit in the head by THE Megaman Volnutt and company definitely eased the pain a bit!" Aero said, putting her arms behind her back and clasping her hands, while slightly staring at the boy still lying in bed.

Since growing up surrounded by gang members, Aero had always been a little shut out from the romantic scene. To be honest, the only person should would even consider dating is Barrett, the leader of her little rag tag group of digger/fighters known as the "Bright Bats". Barrett always seemed to be hesitant to hurt anyone during their escapades, and he usually only instigated a little fun, much to the consternation of Red, who obviously saw his greater potential and wanted him to be his own personal right hand man. But it had always seemed to Aero that Barrett's heart was to light and too good for the life that he was living. She had always admired him for not compromising his ideals, something she had to do regularly, and admired that trait in people.

Now, hearing that same trait in Megaman's exploits, and in their genuine good nature, (All apart from Tron Bonne, who could be pretty wicked when she wanted to be) She completely forgot about her true reason for coming here, pushing Red completely from her mind and smiled for the first time in what felt like an entire lifetime.

"It really is a pleasure to meet you all." Aero said winningly.

Ira stood up and went over to shake her hand in an almost businesslike way. It appeared that Ira was still genuinely upset about landing on top of Aero, and was determined to make amends.

"Come on! Sit down, tell us about yourself."

Aero sat down where Ira indicated. "Well, really, I'm not all that interesting. I just live here in Teomo City. Don't really have a cool history or story like you guys do!" Although cordial, her voice had a slight strain to it, as though this wasn't the whole truth, a fact that all three picked up, but quickly disregarded.

"Please, we aren't special, we just got caught up in a huge mess that we didn't really want to be a part of in the first place!" Megaman said, smiling slightly.

"Teomo City…" Tron said, while still scrutinizing the pink haired girl. "So that's where we landed. This is a big island, from what I hear… it's actually right next to Calbania Island."

Aero nodded. "One of the biggest. Been here my whole life… unfortunately." Aero said with a slight wistfulness.

Ira could already tell that she was going to like this girl. Already she saw a strong parallel between their lives. "Ever thought of leaving? You know, seeing the world?"

Red's face popped back into her mind, and her heart slowly sank back into her feet. She suddenly remembered why she was there in the first place.

"Oh yes, all the time, but I guess I just never really had an opportunity to go. Plus, it's so pretty here. In fact, I was thinking maybe we could all walk outside together, if you are feeling up to it. It's such a beautiful day, I would love to show you around! Apparently there's going to be a huge celebration in your honor, and I would love to see it all!"

All three sat back in their seats. Megaman flopped onto his back. Obviously this wasn't good news to the three of them.

"Or… Maybe not?" Aero said, with a slight pout.

"Don't worry, it's not you…" Ira said bracingly. "It's all this ado over us. To be honest, if I had known what it would have meant to come over and give Roll that refractor, I might have thought about it a bit harder…" Ira said, looking over at Tron, who give her a slight smirk.

"Yeah, it seems like everyone has their hands out to us these days." Tron said, looking pointedly at Aero, who didn't seem to notice the obvious accusation in her stare.

"Well, maybe we can escape somewhere. I'm sure that staying in this room all day isn't going to be good for us!"

Megaman was delighted. "Of course we can! I'm feeling much better anyway. I'm sick of being stuck in this room. I wanna go back outside and breathe some fresh air after so long!"

It was true; Megaman couldn't remember the last time he had actually breathed in air that didn't smell as though it had been sterilized thoroughly, whether on Elysium or here in the hospital. He felt like he was slowly being embalmed from the inside out.

All three stood up, Megaman a bit more slowly, checking to make sure everything was functioning correctly, and surprised to see he was doing much better than anticipated.

"Hmmm, I guess Sera and Yuna really know their stuff, hunh?" Megaman said, looking to Tron and Ira, who both nodded. As they all walked out of the room, Tron's smile fell off of her face.

For some reason, she didn't feel quite right around Aero. She knew from years of experience that usually the pretty faces were the ones you couldn't trust, especially when it came to pirating…

'Myself included!' She thought with a slight smirk.

Ira and Megaman were always so trusting and nice to everyone, they obviously didn't see the paradox that this girl seemed to be presenting. What kind of a person, knowing who they were and how famous they were, wouldn't try to get something out of all this? And the fact that she seemed too concerned for them, getting them out of the hospital and out in the open. She couldn't really tell if Aero was hiding something, if perhaps she had some sort of ulterior motive…

The walk through the hospital was exactly as the three of them feared. As they walked, countless nurses and doctors gave them applause, or came over to shake their hands and give them hearty congratulations. It was all really too much for Megaman and Aero, who hadn't experienced this sort of treatment before, and was very irritating to Ira and Tron, who had seen more than enough of the limelight to last them a long time.

"Leaving so soon?" A friendly looking nurse called out to them from over a reception desk.

"Just going for a walk!" Aero said politely, as the countless smiles erupted around them. Tron seemed to glower down on all of these people. It wasn't like a pirate to be so celebrated all the time, it was really growing awkward for her and her family. The Bonne name up in lights for the whole world to see? She shook her head slightly, slightly amused at what had happened to the world today…

The three of them reached the entrance to the hospital, and saw to their consternation that it was being surrounded by crowds, milling for a chance to enter. Apparently, this was big news all over the island. Many of them seemed to still be sporting their "Good Luck Girls!" T-Shirts.

"It looks like everyone who was on Calbania has come over here for the celebration!" Aero said thoughtfully, wondering how many people were on the island now.

"I'm not going out there." Tron said finally, and Megaman couldn't help but agree. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd.

"Aero! Aero! What are you doing? Are you alright?"

"Back off man, I told you, no one can come through to visit the people involved in the crash, ok?"

Both of these voices seemed familiar to the group. Ira peered out, and saw Jim, Osh, and Bensley, once again protecting the entrance to the hospital to keep out onlookers, just as they had done on Calbania, and Aero saw a familiar goggled face.

"That's Barrett! He's a friend of mine!" Aero said to them, waving through the glass and sending the crowd into a turmoil.

Jim and Osh turned to see what was causing the commotion, and saw the little group on the other side of the door.

"Hi you guys! Sorry we didn't visit, we wanted to keep the rabble off of you!" Jim said over his shoulder.

Barrett suddenly made a lunge for the door, jumping over the unsuspecting group of boys, and came barreling into the hospital. "Aero!"

"Barrett! How are you?" Aero said excitedly, feeling herself get a little faint at the sight of him vaulting over an entire staircase with his patented "Rider Kick"

"I could say the same for you! Listen, I brought my hover bike around back, let's get out of here!" Barrett said, looking at the group surrounding her for the first time…

"Megaman Volnutt! In the flesh! Well, what a pleasure it is to meet you sir!" Barrett said in a loud, strong voice, shaking Megaman's hand violently up and down.

"Li..Kkk…ee…wise!" Megaman said, fearing Barrett may have shaken something loose.

The Crowd was clamoring and milling, trying to push past the three boys, making a huge fuss, but this was lost on Barrett.

Barrett looked around at the other faces, and stopped suddenly on the figure behind Megaman.

"Well well, I don't believe my eyes! Didn't think I would be seeing you again!" Barrett said, in a commanding, over the top tone.

Tron Bonne put her hand on her hip, cocking it to one side and looking at the man in front of her. "Consider yourself lucky that you haven't until now!" Tron said with, a look of slight anger at having this surprise brought upon her suddenly.

"Wait… You two… know each other?" Aero said, astounded.

Suddenly, Jim, Osh, and Bensley came galumphing into the foyer of the hospital, panting slightly.

"Well, I know you all seem to be enjoying your little talking session, but we need to get out of here, quick! The dam's about to burst!" Bensley said in a slightly squeaky voice.

Sure enough, they all turned to see the massive crowd begin to head towards the doors.

"I'll explain later! Quick, let's head out the back!" Barrett said, as he began to run down another hallway.

The others joined suit, although Tron hesitated for just a moment before following the goggled mystery man down the corridor. Megaman stopped and looked at her.

"Tron, come on!" Megaman said, as he rushed back and grabbed her hand tightly.

Tron felt a very comfortable swooping sensation in the pit of her stomach, and her eyes began to sparkle as she looked at him. "You…you're holding my hand…?"

Megaman stopped moving for just a second, and looked at her expression. He had never seen her look so… vulnerable?

"Tron…" He said softly, looking at her dancing eyes.

Tron suddenly snapped out of it. "Come on!" She yelled, dashing down the hallway, dragging a totally surprised Megaman down the hallway, easily overtaking the others in her apparent newfound strength.

Barrett pointed ahead. "Right there, quick!" He pointed to a door on their left, and jumped ahead of Tron and Megaman and kicked the door open, blinding them all for a moment as the bright sunlight, hit their faces. They had opened the door to a courtyard at the back of the hospital, and there, as promised, was Barrett's hover bike, surrounded by a group of others with various riders.

Unfortunately, there were also people at this exit as well, but in far fewer numbers.

"Quick!" Ira said, jumping up and down, "What should we do?"

"Everyone on a bike, we are taking the scenic route! Ready, Bright Bats?"

All of the riders cheered and revved their hover engines, causing the groups to back away slightly. The escapees took their chance.

They dashed towards the bikes, all jumping on helter skelter, with Aero hopping on the back of Barrett's largest bike.

"Let's go!"

They all raced off, Megaman barely holding onto the back of a large, round blonde haired boy with red goggles. The other two jumped onto the back of two other boys' hover bikes. One looked barely older than ten, had a truly frightened look as Ira clung to his back, and a slightly older black haired boy with a suave look about him looked positively thrilled to have Tron Bonne sitting wrapped around him, with Tron looking over at Megaman as if it were all his fault.

Megaman couldn't help but smile with the excitement of it all.

"We will meet you by the stage later!" Jim called to them as they began to race off. "We'll try to slow them down!"

Ira waved to him, showing that she heard, as they all barreled forward and off the edge of the hillside the hospital stood upon. All three of them screamed, Megaman in sheer delight, Tron in sheer anger, and Ira in sheer terror as they suddenly dropped down like a rollercoaster, looking out at a spectacular view of the ocean, and in the distance, the Island of Calbania and their old launch site shimmering in the sun.

It was truly a breathtaking sight.

"Welcome to Teomo City!"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Well, this is terrible, terrible news!" Bleucher said, sitting back and taking in what he had just been told.

The Flutter's living room was filled to the brim with the "Mature" adults, listening in on the story of Elysium in its full detail, culminating in the hanging threat that was looming in the stars above them.

Teisel, who was studying a picture of the Flutter on the wall and sipping on some coffee he had just made in the maker next to it, was shaken to the core. This wasn't at all what he had planned on hearing when he came to the Flutter. He had been so SURE that there was treasure to be had, and now it seemed that, once again, the world would have to rely on HIM and his FAMILY to save the day!

"What is it about being a good guy that makes you always seem to have trouble looking over your shoulder!" Teisel said out loud, without meaning to, and drawing the attention of everyone in the room, including the two "Creepy Sisters," as he liked to refer to Yuna and Sera.

"Sorry…" He said, looking a bit embarrassed. "You were saying?" He gestured to Sera, who had paused briefly in their explanation of the situation to allow the gravity of the perils ahead sink into their minds.

Sera spoke once again. "At its current rate of consumption, estimates given on Elysium for the amount of time we are dealing with may be a gross overestimate. Security detail that was activated during our escape has greatly altered our timeframe from the initial estimate of five months."

Barrel Caskett looked at her seriously. "How long?"

In an attempt to bring some color back to their faces, Yuna interrupted, "We aren't entirely sure, but we do know that it isn't imminent. We still have time to stop this as long as we hurry!"

Bon decided to put in his two cents. "Babbu, babbbbu, BABU!"

Teisel looked at him seriously. "I have no idea how to stop the moon from hitting us, this is way over my head…" Teisel looked at the rest of the group. "I wasn't aware that I had signed up for something like this, this is REALLY putting a cramp on my STYLE!" Teisel exclaimed, pouting comically.

Bleucher looked at him in exasperation. "This isn't the time for that. What we need is a plan."

"We need to tell everyone." Barrel said finally, drawing odd looks from nearly everyone in the room, with the exception of Yuna and Bon. Bon had taken to playing with her long pigtails as Yuna sat with her legs crossed on the couch, looking at the blank brand new TV set.

"…I believe the whole point in holding this meeting here was to avoid that idea…" Bleucher said to him.

"If people are told, then no one needs to panic, we can work out a solution together."

"That isn't the only factor that is involved." Sera said staunchly, cutting off any sort of argument. "We believe that there is an additional factor that has yet to be addressed. The Elder System."

Yuna pulled her eyes away from the TV and rejoined the conversation. "We believe that the ruins are about to reactivate, and this spells danger to any who are involved. We believe some form of third party is reactivating the systems in response to the destruction of Elysium.

Everyone seemed slightly surprised by this.

"What, you mean like REAVERBOTS?" Teisel said, guffawing slightly. "They're machines, but I don't think they're THAT smart. Plus, all ruin entrances have been guarded specifically to keep the Reaverbots from coming out…or pirates from going in…" He said with a slight grin on his face.

"No." Sera said in a dangerously serious tone. "The ruins you know are nothing close to what I am describing. Entire cities and thousands of hidden mysteries lie beneath the water of this planet, and none of them are good. And unfortunately, with Elysium moving closer to the planet, in addition to the refractors no longer maintaining water production under the waves, the oceans will recede drastically. It has already begun, and we cannot even imagine the horrors that await us. This isn't something that can be done through mass awareness. Most likely, we would cause worldwide panic."

Bleucher and Barrel sat down, attempting to find something, anything, that could help them in this desperate time.

"Well what can we do? IS there anything we can do?" Bleucher asked sadly.

"Not us." Yuna said finally. "But Megaman. He holds the key to our salvation once again!"

Barrel shook his head sadly. "Although I hate to admit it, I think she is right. No one has had this much experience with your world as he has, and he's one of the finest diggers I've ever seen. I just wish I could do more for him. I feel like ever since I rescued him from Nino Island I've given him nothing but trouble in his life…it was like he could have been a normal boy, but I converted him into some kind of robot killer…"

For some reason, a cold chill swept down Barrel's back at the thought of what he had just said.

Yuna smiled. "It was always his destiny, long before you were around, Barrel. But it isn't just his skills that we require of him. To be honest, we aren't entirely sure of his full true purpose either, but we do know that while on Elysium, he and he alone was given instructions on how to destroy Elysium and save Terra." They all listened closely. "I'm sure you all remember the Master, as we talked about him earlier right?"

They all nodded, with the exception of Teisel, who seemed likely to be out of sync with the other two men.

"He gave instructions to Megaman when he was known as Trigger to obtain something known as the Maverick Codes. There are three of them total. Apparently, he also gave him a tracking device of some sort to find them. We believe that with these three codes, they will unlock the location of an old laser cannon that was used to destroy older satellites and ships in orbit that will be able to destroy Elysium before it can hit the planet!"

"Well alright then!" Bleucher said, standing up in a slightly pompous way that Barrel recognized only too well: when he was about to make a bad decision.

"Then we should carry on as planned! The celebration begins tonight on a successful return!"

Yuna and Sera both looked at him with slightly incredulous faces. "What are you saying?"

"We can't cause a panic, but we also can't leave the island without raising questions, so we should just continue as scheduled!"

Barrel was shocked to hear him take this stand, with all that was at stake. As soon as the three girls had taken off with Data in the Zuhilfekommen, Bleucher had contracted Jim, Osh, and Bensley begin preparations for a grand return party. In reality, after having crash landed on the neighboring Island, Bleucher had drafted everyone from all neighboring islands to come to a grand festival marking the occasion. The leaders and dignitaries of all island nations were converging onto Teomo city for a worldwide celebration the likes of which no one had seen before. Using his vast fortunes to get the necessary materials and security, Teomo City had recently become the new capital of the world, in a manner of speaking. Preparations had been completed earlier in the day, and now that Megaman was awake, he had planned on marking the occasion in an egomaniacal way. But with the most recent turn of events, even Barrel was surprised by his thick headedness.

"We don't have time for your foolish games this time!" Barrel said seriously. "This could very well be the end of life as we know it, and you wish to form a parade line?"

Bleucher stood up. "I'm aware that the situation is more than dire, but right now, there is nothing more that we can do until an opportunity presents itself to slip out of the limelight. The whole world is watching us right now! If that 'third party' is really involved, we need to keep up pretenses!"

Teisel rounded on him. "To heck with THAT plan! What makes you think you can parade everyone around like your own little puppets to achieve your OWN fame and fortune! I know my sister isn't one to take all of this attention in stride, and she's angry enough as it is!" He pointed to his eye for dramatic effect. "I know that we've all gotten something out of this, in the end, even me and my HUGE AMOUNTS OF CASH! But really, I'm sick of standing in front of the cameras like a show dog!" Teisel said, crossing his arms and nodding at his own words.

"…While I don't really agree with his reasons, I still agree with Teisel." Barrel said slowly. "We need to get on top of this right away. We don't have time for festivals, we need to grab the girls and Megaman and start working on this problem now!"

"Enough!" Bleucher said, closing his eyes and putting up his hand.

Luckily, at that second, they heard footsteps outside in the hallway, and the door to the living room opened to reveal a slightly panting Jim, accompanied by one of Bleucher's omnipresent blue suited guards.

"Mr. Bluecher! They all got out of the hospital…and I told them to meet us…at the staging area!"

"Excellent!" Bleucher said, standing up and looking over the small group in the room. "Well, there's no sense in arguing now, things just seem to be working out as they will!" Bleucher said laughing.

"Why do these things always seem to work in your favor?" Teisel said, grinding his teeth.

"Now now, Teisel, don't get in a fuss. Remember, I was the one who made those deals to get your name cleared. You are a free man because of me! Just do this one favor and I promise you, we can all work together!"

Teisel mumbled something about not even wanting to help under his breath, as Bleucher walked out of the room.

Sera and Yuna, who were quiet during most of the exchange, decided to speak up. "We cannot allow too much time to be lost. Right now we aren't sure how long we have left!" Yuna said in a tremulous voice.

"Oh DON'T worry!" Teisel said, winking at the two girls. "I've had enough of his pompous attitude for one lifetime. I'll make sure that things happen 'On Schedule'! He he, ha ha, HAHAHAHA!" Teisel leaned back into one of his trademark laughs.

"As for myself…" Barrel said slowly. "I'm going to go visit my daughter."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After flying at a breakneck pace through crowds of people, or across long green plains of grass only just now showing signs of tents and tailgaters as the day progressed, the Bright Bats, along with their newfound friends, arrived out along a beach, overlooking the bright blue ocean. They all stopped and got off the bikes, some a little bit more shakily than others.

"Well it looks like we all got away safely! Glad we could be there to help!" Barrett said, his booming voice cutting through their still ringing ears from the winds on the Hover Bikes.

"And what makes you think we needed your help?" Tron said, getting off the bike on strong feet and marching over to the leader of the Bright Bats, who put up his arms in mock defense.

"It was a long time ago, can't we all just get along?" Barrett said, laughing, as the rest of the Bright Bats took up defensive positions close to him, but he waved them off.

"Alright, can someone please explain what's going on here?" Ira said, as she held onto Megaman for support after getting off of her Hover Bike. She blushed slightly at his touch.

"I'd be happy to!" Tron said, whipping her head around to answer Ira, and then looking in accusation back at Barrett. "THIS piece of slime was one of the reasons that it took so long to bring you back down, Megaman! When I went out on digs to find parts, sometimes this tall, goggled freak here would come in and get in my way, and steal all of the good stuff for himself! Not only that, but he's done it before, too! We found a good ruin a while ago, and then Teisel and I ran into this good for nothing scoundrel and he took all the Zenny for himself!"

"All's fair in love and war, dear, just like I told you then!" Barrett said, laughing. "And plus, look at the pot calling the kettle black! Scoundrel? You and that no good brother of yours are just as bad as me! But worse, you seemed to have lost all of your honor and integrity as pirates!"

Tron made a lunge for him, but he playfully dodged out of the way.

"So wait… You're a digger?" Megaman said, trying to ease the tension between Tron and Barrett that he wasn't so sure was warranted. It sounded like this guy just beat her to the punch a few times. Being a digger himself, he knew how frustrating that was, but also knew that that was just the rule of the game.

"Yes sir! Trained by one of the best diggers in the world! A man you are pretty familiar with, I believe!" Barrett said pointing at Megaman.

"Me…? Do you mean...?" Megaman started, totally shocked.

"Of course I do! Everyone knows that if you wanna be the best, you go to Barrel Caskett for digger training!" Barrett said, laughing. "In fact, from all I heard about you and little Miss Caskett, I'd say you probably know that already!"

Ira held up her hand to interrupt his endless tirade of shouting. "So who are you guys, exactly?"

"Us?" the blonde boy Megaman rode with spoke up. "We're the Bright Bats! The rowdiest gang in Teomo City! I'm Grill!" He pointed to himself, "The young one over there is Pick!"

"I'm not YOUNG!" Pick said, knocking his oversized cap slightly askew on his head.

Grill ignored him. "And the strong, silent type over there is Max. He likes to think he's cooler than all of us." Max leaped over and started to pummel Grill while Grill laughed at his own little joke, holding him off.

"I'm Barrett, I lead these new rising stars, and the last of our little group is Aero, but you've already met her."

She smiled and waved at them playfully. She then turned to Barrett. "How did you know when to come for me?"

"Red's orders." Barrett shrugged. "He said you might need my help to get out of there, so I brought everyone along…"

"Who is this Red?" Megaman asked curiously, and when Aero looked at Barrett in warning, Megaman felt a slight unease.

"Well… It's not really important. Honestly, I'm just glad we made it in time!" Barrett said unhelpfully.

"No kidding!" Ira said, brushing over the fact that they didn't answer Megaman's question. "I'm pretty sure if we had been in there one minute longer, we would have been trampled to death!"

"Did you say the rowdiest gang? You guys are a GANG?" Tron scoffed at the little ragtag group. "You don't really look that threatening to me!"

"Well, that isn't really the point of a gang, now is it, miss smarty pants!" Pick said, blowing a raspberry at Tron, who narrowed her eyes at the little squirt.

"We aren't like those others gangs, Tron. I brought all these kids together who had nowhere else to go. Orphans and ruffians who didn't know what to do, or girls who had run away from home because they weren't being treated very well." Barrett said, looking at Aero and tussling her hair a bit, making her giggle. "I wanted to make sure that no one felt abandoned and alone, and give them someone to turn to for help. They say that makes us one of the weakest gangs, but I think our Honor and Respect are worth more than POWER!"

"Hear Hear!" The Bright Bats chorused.

Tron rolled her eyes, but Megaman looked at him sincerely. "That's something worth fighting for." The sincerity in his tone made Tron stop rolling her eyes and look at him with glowing eyes once again.

'How does he always seem to do this to me?' Tron thought pathetically.

Ira also took his tone as a chance to swoon while no one was looking. "Megaman…"

"Enough about that, though! Now that we've sprung you, what's the plan?" Barrett said, striking a dramatic pose. "Seems like we left in such a rush, we may have left someone behind!"

"That's true, once we get Roll and our families back together, we can finally…well…we can move on." Megaman said, catching himself before giving too much away.

"Nuh uh uh! I don't think so!" Grill said, waving his finger at him like he was a naughty school child. "Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?" Megaman said, fearing the worst.

"Old man Bleucher is throwing you heroes a grand celebration! What do you think all those tents and crowds were for! I'm fairly certain he's gonna make you guys the toast of the town!"

Pick smiled a slightly gap toothed smile.

Barrett frowned slightly, "Well it looks like we may have taken the star attractions away from the circus! But it doesn't look like any of you really want to be there…"

All of them shook their heads, but Ira spoke up. "But we need to go back, Jim yelled at me while we left! He said that he would have everyone meet us at the 'stage…'oh man…" Ira shuddered at the thought.

Aero looked up at Barrett, who nodded imperceptibly. She then looked at them all. "Well, we can always take you guys back if you need to… but are you sure you want to? I mean, you can hang out here with us, Von Bleucher can just shove it!"

They all laughed at that. Both Megaman and Ira were beginning to really like Aero, but Tron was not convinced. Not at all.

"Well alright then, let's head back, I'm sure it's going to be a grand affair!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Roll was on a completely different planet than the rest of them. She had finally found her parents. She used to lie in bed, listening to the sounds of the Flutter's engine, or the seagulls flying past, wondering if her parents were doing the same thing somewhere else in the world. If somehow, someday, she could find them, if they could be whole again.

As she grew older, she realized that perhaps they were gone, both of them were gone. Of course, it had been Megaman who had brought her out of her funk, just as he always did.

Megaman…

Next to these two people on either side of her, no one was more important to her, and she knew that she had everything, _everything,_ because of him.

But at this moment, no one mattered to her more than Matilda and Banner Caskett.

Mom and Dad…

After the initial tearful greeting, and assurances that it was, in fact, reality, Roll had gone out with her parents outside of the hospital, to the tumultuous applause of the crowd. It all passed her in a haze. Cameras clicked and news reporters flooded them with constant questions, but Roll didn't answer anything, while her parents took care of all the talking. She was in a state of shock that everything in her life had finally become perfect. She knew, even now, with the danger overhead, that she could do anything. She had, against all odds, done something she had been told was impossible.

She would never listen to those people again.

Surprisingly, after a while, a group of young men seemed to hold the crowds back, away from them, but they were people she did not recognize. It was odd, but welcome, so that she could walk with her family together again.

"So how did you do it, Roll?" Banner asked, looking down at his daughter proudly, noticing that she was seeing the men surrounding them, and wanted to take her mind off of them.

"Do what?" She asked him in surprise.

"Make it to Forbidden Island with my dropship?" he asked, laughing at his little joke, while Roll and Matilda looked at him with a frown. "What? Too soon? Oh come on, you have to tell me. You are the total genius of the family now, so tell me…what did I screw up?"

Roll sighed, and looked at him with her slight kitten grin that she normally reserved for Megaman was he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing, like eating HER slice of apricot pie. "You didn't reinforce for the added wind torque in the propeller. It burned out your engine, snapped your rotor…."

"I KNEW IT! I knew that was what it was, I ran it over and over in my head, I knew I had missed some sort of calculation…I just couldn't figure it out… I…"

He looked over at Matilda's deathly glare, and decided to be quiet about the dropship.

"But enough about that, I just want to tell you how happy we are right now!"

"I know… I still can't believe it… Dad…" The word felt weird on her tongue, like a new crisp paper zenny note that wasn't quite yet broken in.

"But now that we are all together, I have important things I need to discuss with the two of you!"

Roll and Matilda looked up, Roll in curiosity, and Matilda in outrage. He wasn't still planning that foolishness, was he?

They had reached the stage of the ceremony without realizing it. Roll looked around, noticing that the men that had held back the crowds had seemed to steer them directly to this spot. It seemed an odd coincidence, but when she looked up, she saw why.

Her face, along with Tron, Megaman, Ira, and the rest of their close friends, was plastered and illuminated all over the stage. The concert hall seating was being filled up as far as she could see, with speakers larger than the support car getting their final tunings.

"What… What is all this?" Roll said, suddenly alarmed.

"Mr. Bleucher and Mr. Red have gotten together and have decided to host your return ceremony right here, in Teomo City!" Banner said.

"What? Why? We don't need them to…"

"We know that, honey, and we tried to stop it from happening, but the ball was already in motion long before you had even crashed." Banner said. Matilda was holding the bridge of her nose with her hand in apparent aggravation. "It's ridiculous. We don't have time for this, Banner we need to…"

"Ahh, the guests of honor have arrived!" Bleucher called out to them, followed closely by an ambling Barrel Caskett. Barrel, having already visited Matilda and Banner before Roll, was still rocked by the scene in front of him. His whole family, together again. Even he forgot for a moment why he was so intent on stopping the world from celebrating with him; celebrating in the joyous occasion of his family returning to him.

"Matilda! Banner! I'm so happy to see you again!" Barrel started.

Matilda spun around, obviously happy to see him, but entirely taken by surprise with how this situation was spiraling out of control.

"Hold on, hold on, Barrel, we are all very excited about all this, but everything is about to start soon. Please, come this way, I've just been informed that Megaman and Tron are on their way here as well. It's now or never!"

"Bleucher, this is all happening too fast, please, we need to discuss this!"

"What's to discuss? Come now, let's get ready, we can get to everything else later!"

Bleucher began to walk away, towards the stage.

"What is going on, why is everything happening so fast?" Roll thought to herself.

Banner looked down at the two of them. "It's all been arranged. After this, we start our new life together fresh! What do you say?"

Roll was starting to look confused. "What's going on? What is all this about? Why are we being pushed around? I don't like this, can't we just go somewhere quiet?"

Banner looked at her with surprise, "You don't want this? Why shouldn't we all be celebrating? This is a good time to start a new life, away from all of the trouble that you've had to suffer through…"

"What trouble? Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Can't you see?" Said a voice behind her. Roll spun around, and saw a large man in a suit walking up to them.

"Red!" Banner greeted the large man with a smile.

Matilda bristled visibly, "What is he doing here?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" Red said, holding his arms out. "I'm here to give you all the life you never had! Your husband and I have had a long discussion, and he and I agree that this is really your day, the three of you!"

Roll was shocked by her mother's attitude. What was going on?

Just at that moment, the Bright Bats pulled up to the stage to tumultuous applause, bringing with them Megaman, Ira, Tron, and another girl walking next to Megaman that Roll didn't recognize.

"Well well… The gang's all here." Red said sardonically, looking at Banner with a knowing glance.

Banner nodded and looked down at Roll, holding her around the shoulders.

"Let's talk over here for just a moment…" Banner said, leading her along a path next to the stage, out of sight of Megaman and everyone else. Red brought his men in close, holding back the crowd, and somehow accidentally separating Matilda from Banner and Roll. Matilda suddenly became very frightened. Why was this happening? What was going on? This party, this whole celebration…why did she suddenly have a feeling that this whole thing was much more sinister then they were led to believe…?

"I need to stop this, now. I don't know what's going on, but I know that this has something to do with that Red character…" Matilda thought to herself.

He was going to regret butting in where he didn't belong.

"Welcome, everyone!" Bleucher yelled into the microphone, to thunderous applause. But this wall all lost upon Roll, who was suddenly looking into her father's eyes, being held tightly, and a little uncomfortably, with his large mechanical hand.

"Roll… I know I haven't been there for you, and I know how much it has hurt you. I wanted to apologize…"

"Dad… it's okay… but why are you…?"

"I just want you to know," Banner interrupted, "That this dangerous part of your life is over. I'm going to make it all up to you, I swear it."

"But…"

"Just listen for a second…I know that you have spent your entire life looking for me, and I think that it has made you into something you were never meant to be. Your mother and I…we never wanted you to put yourself in harm's way, fighting pirates, flying into space…it's just…we never would have put you in this much danger. We want you to live a normal life from now on, Roll. Does that sound like something that would interest you?"

"A…A normal life? But…"

"Roll, you've always been a smart girl, I know that you realize that people don't live like you have, flying from place to place, scrounging for money wherever they can find it, relying on people that aren't very… reliable…" Banner said, looking from side to side.

"Who…?"

"Roll, do you want to stay with us here in Teomo City? Red has offered us the best of the best. We could sell the Flutter…"

"Sell the Flutter? What are you talking about!" Roll said, completely alarmed, pushing him away slightly. "That ship has been my life!"

"Roll! I want you to leave your life behind! I want you to be safe and happy with your mother and me!"

"It sounds great, Dad… but…what about Gramps? What about Megaman? We make our money digging! We can't just give that up! What are you trying to say?"

"Well, Gramps would live with us, of course, and we would be the top engineers here in Teomo City! We could make a fortune! Everything would be fine!"

"And Megaman? What will he do?"

Banner looked at her seriously. "We don't need to worry about him, Roll."

Roll blanched visibly, "What is that supposed to mean? I'm sure he wouldn't want to just sit arou…"

"I don't want you to see him ever again." Banner said seriously.

Roll's mouth dropped. "…What?"

"I don't want him putting you in danger anymore!"

"HE ISN'T PUTTING ME IN DANGER! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?" Roll yelled angrily. Who did he think he was, coming and telling this to her?

"You don't understand! I know he's a good guy, and I know that he has been there for you, but trouble follows him around like a plague, and I don't know about you, but I think you and I have had enough trouble in our lives! Banner smiled winningly.

Roll almost spat in his face. "Who do you think you are? You know exactly how much Megaman has done for me…for everyone! How can you say this?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Matilda pushed through the crowds and walked up to the stage during Bleucher's speech congratulating the young adults on their amazing endeavors. She found Red standing at the far back of the stage, behind Bleucher, and snuck up behind him with a menacing glint in her eyes.

"What have you done?" Matilda whispered dangerously behind him.

Without turning his head, Red answered her in a confident tone. "I gave you and your family _exactly_ what you need."

Matilda was beyond furious. "What is all this? What are you doing?"

"Your husband only wants what is best for his family, and what better way to do that than to keep the dogs at bay?"

"The dogs? What…you need to stop this, now!"

"Oh no no no, the ball is already in motion! I'm certain your husband is, at this moment, convincing your daughter just EXACTLY how dangerous her world has become. I'm sure if you spend any more time with that boy, she's eventually going to be killed."

Matilda grabbed his shirt, promising violence, but Red wasn't even fazed. "What are you going to do? Threaten me in front of the whole world? I own this town! You think that Bleucher did this on his own? That fool didn't have the money for this! He's in my pocket just as much as YOU are, and you and I need to discuss EXACTLY what there is to know about where the Mother Lode is! Bleucher has run himself so deep into the red that he and I have come to an 'understanding' on one or two issues-one of which is making sure that your family does EXACTLY what I say…" Red said confidently.

"The Mother Lode? What are you talking about? There isn't a Mother Lode!" Matilda whispered furiously.

"I'm not prepared to hear your lies, and now that your only connection to Megaman is being severed, you have nothing to threaten me with. I'm sure you will see things my way…"

Bleucher's blue shirted guards came up from behind the stage, cocking their guns to not only Matilda, but everyone else on the stage.

Matilda let go of his shirt slowly.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Are you insane?" Roll said in a frightened voice, gripping his massive metal arm, as he had inadvertently grabbed her a little bit more roughly than intended. He relented his grip a bit.

"You have to understand how dangerous he is!"

"He's a part of my life! You can't just erase the past…!"

Banner slammed his arm into the stage, startling her slightly. "I know that! I've been struggling with that all my life! But I'm going to start making your life better now!"

Roll was completely losing control. When had here dream suddenly turned into a nightmare? What had happened to her world in the last 20 minutes?

"I can't believe this…" Roll said.

Suddenly, from up above them, a voice rang out, "MAY I INTRODUCE THE CREW OF THE ZUHILFEKOMMEN, THE FIRST MAN MADE STARCRAFT!"

Banner looked at her and pushed her up the stairs. "Go. We can discuss this later…"

Roll didn't even know what was going on. She stood in front of the crowd, and the cheers, and she looked as though she had just lost her soul. This wasn't lost upon Megaman.

"Roll, are you alright?" Megaman asked, smiling at her.

Roll looked at him, and knew instantly what would happen.

He was going to make her choose between them, and him…

How could she make that sort of decision?

She didn't answer, and looked at him with a look that he had never seen before.

What was she going to do?

**So… Now that I've slept and my headache is gone, I'm altering the story a bit. Thanks to Dashe at Megaman Legends Station, I have a beta reader! So all that ridiculous typing errors and weird grammatical stuff can be avoided, so I stop sounding like a 12 year old trying to write a legends fic when I do this at 4 in the morning! Hooray! Haha. Class has been eating me alive recently, I'm taking accelerated summer courses in inorganic and organic chemistries, and electromagnetic physics, to prepare for the stupid MCAT. I love how I got two degrees in law and psychology, and they are going to be totally useless to me now… oh well, they want well rounded people apparently, chances are very good I'll get into a top school at the moment. Wish me luck!**

**Anyways, to get back on topic, I'm studying a lot in these past few weeks, and in the weeks to come. I'm writing as much as I can when I can. I hate seeing the half finished stories on here, it just makes me sad. Of course, its going to be MORE sad when I realize just how much time I wasted doing this, and having nothing to show for it! So make sure that this story is read, reviewed, and loved everywhere! At least THEN I can shove it in my sister's face that I can write better fan fics than she can. And really, isn't that what it's all about?**

**If you are a member on MLU or MMLS, you got to see a preview of the next chapter, but for those of you who aren't… well… too bad… hahaha**

**Don't worry if you are a little confused at the end of this chapter. I hit you with a ton of stuff all at once. Don't worry, and behind the scenes look at what the heck just happened is coming in the next chapter, from a Red flashback!**

**By the way? He's a dick.**

**Also, be prepared to witness EXACTLY what I meant when I said that Teisel was awesome…. Yeah… I should shut up now.**

**I guess the reason I'm saying so much right now is because I've finally gotten into the Megaman Legends 3 portion of this story! Hooray! Things will get even more dicey, and it's gonna be a lot of fun when I finally get to connecting the timelines.**

**Also, I love Roll. Seriously. I didn't think that she would come out the way that she did on her father. I was just going to assume she was just kinda going to be completely submissive, but she got up in his face! Nice!**

**Also, Tron got googly eyes. Wasn't expecting that either. Haha**

**So… on to the reviews…**

**SonicLover44: I'm really glad you came out from behind the scenes to review my story! But don't get too comfortable! The X series is going to tie in pretty strongly to the middle of this story! And yeah, the parent conflict actually just kinda came out of nowhere. I mean, I've never once seen a story that talks about what happens to Roll's PARENTS when they come back down, I mean, what the heck? They don't just disappear! The whole point of going up there for Roll was to bring Matilda back down! (And save the world) And its obvious that Joe/Banner didn't forget anything, but had moved on. But what would have happened if he found out Matilda was alive? I mean, that's HUGE! I think his reaction is actually pretty much how any person who made a huge mistake in parenting would be… Now grossly overprotective and slightly stupid.**

**Thank heavens Roll still has Matilda to not be an idiot haha.**

**HunterMattrex: I don't know if it's one of the best stories on the whole site, but damn, that made me feel special when I read that haha. And yeah, I kind of have a huge crush on Roll too… lol. Funny you bring up the old pirates btw… ha ha ha ha**

**As for making a DMC fanfic? I mean… I could, but I don't think it would really be this involved and contextual. Megaman series have a ridiculously complicated and deep history, DMC kind of plays like an episode of an anime. Freaking awesome, but really you can't do much more than make up a scenario where Dante/Trish/Lady fight demons, make out, and have a grand old time. That and Dante is a godmoder. Which makes him freaking awesome as a character, but limits the kind of stuff you can do. Fighting another god like mundus is one thing, but just little demons? Please.**

**iCards: Haha well how the heck would YOU think up a reason for why the planet is totally covered in water? Haha. Actually, in a previous review someone paralleled that to the great flood in biblical story. I'm not really going to give anything away, and I'm not religious, but those sort of things are gonna be really really really really important down the road. When we reach the end, strong biblical overtones are played with… well, maybe not biblical, more moral. Whatever. But let me reiterate, I'm not religious, nor is this a religious story. But those themes do seem to make good stories haha**

**rjkeith: Well I'm glad you stumbled in this direction! Yeah, that was me trying to be clever in trying to 1.) cut past exposition to the girls by doing a jump-cut while still 2.) Advancing the plot while doing it. I thought it worked out really well. Cause you know he's explaining it, and Red just hears what he wants to hear… Speaking of Capcom, I wonder if they would ever take something like this and do something with it, you know? That would be interesting…**

**NeoSpearBlade: ….I already answered you on MLU. So too bad, you aren't in this chapter… oh wait… you are now… oh well ahaha**


	13. Chapter 11: Party Crasher!

Chapter 11: Party Crasher

Red's smirk became more pronounced as he felt Matilda's hand slide off of him at his words. Her threats were just as empty as her head, in his opinion. He couldn't believe how easy this had all been, considering how quickly it had all progressed. He watched with a malicious grin on his face as the beautiful blonde girl walked up the stage staircase, as though she was walking to the gallows, and he knew that it was only a matter of time. He felt Matilda's fury behind him as though it was a tangible force. His eyes scanned the watching crowd, cheering on their new found heroes.

It was just too much.

As he watched, Banner walked to the front of the stage, giving him a significant look, which made Red raise an eyebrow. It looked as though things were progressing, and he figured that he should take center stage.

Bleucher's voice still was ringing out over the loudspeakers: "…To the majority of us, digging is a way of life, a way to give back to our communities, and is the pinnacle of our civilization! For many years, our treks into the unknown depths have revealed many secrets to our history, and had drastically altered our future. We stand here, today, because of those brave men and women who delve into the mysterious depths of our world, and today, we honor those individuals."

The crowd cheered wildly, and whistled up at the stage in response to Bleucher's words. After all, many of those present were diggers, or were related to one.

Red scoffed inwardly. Bleucher was quickly falling into his usual blowhard self. He decided to take matters into his own hands. He reached over and grabbed the microphone from Bleucher, who looked nonplussed, and let his hand drop to his side.

"Because of that…" Red continued, gesturing to the young diggers on the stage, "We wish to celebrate the triumph of these brave young men and women, who have given us a truly breathtaking spectacle to witness, don't you all agree?"

The crowd let out a roar of approval

Red continued. "These youngsters have proven to all of us that we can achieve anything, and I think I'm right in saying they've all earned a little break, what do you think!"

The crowd stamped their feet and hooted back at him, many nodding their heads.

"Then I believe we need to get this celebration started!" Red smiled out at them all, and on cue, fireworks began to fire off above the stage. "Let's welcome our heroes to their new home!"

Red's hands came back down from gesturing to the crowd, and he look down at Banner with a wink, which Banner returned.

"Excellent, this is all going so smoothly…" Red thought. The past few hours in setting up for this Grand Affair really were hectic for him, and Red began to run it all through his mind, reveling in his own cunning.

**Several Hours Earlier**

_After leaving his wife in the room, telling her that he just wanted to step out for a bit, Banner walked out into the sunlight from the front entrance of the hospital, shielding his eyes from the sun until his eyes became accustomed to the brightness. _

_Red watched him closely, and smiled inward to himself. He was lounging next to the fountain that was stationed in front of the entrance on a warm bench, as he was waiting for someone to return word on Bleucher, who had been avoiding him for the past few days. All thoughts of Bleucher were, however, driven from his mind at the sight of the man walking towards him. _

"_Well Well…" Red thought. _

_Banner seemed to be an intelligent man, but much too rash. Red knew that if he were ever to get his hands on the Mother Lode, he would need to find his window of opportunity with this family, and he believed he had found it in Banner. Truthfully, he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to hoodwink these clowns into becoming his own personal puppets, but he knew that, somehow, he needed to gain this man's trust. And when he did, the Mother Lode would be his…_

"_Mr. Caskett!" Red boomed, standing up from his seat and walking over to shake Banner's hand._

"_Hello!" Banner replied, looking for all the world as though Red was a long lost friend. "I was wondering if I could have a quick word with you?"_

"_Well certainly! What is it that I can do for you?" Red smiled, knowing full well what the inquiry would be._

"_Well, I have been thinking about what you said earlier, when you were speaking to my wife and I in the hospital, and I think that perhaps you are right. I think that it's high time that the Caskett family finally got a little peace…" Banner began, sitting down in the seat Red had just gestured to. "We haven't been a family in so long, I just can't believe that I'm sitting here today, enjoying the world again. I can't even tell you the last time I felt this happy!" Banner finished._

"_Oh I completely understand!" Red replied, chuckling merrily, taking his seat next to Banner's mechanical arm. "If it was me, I don't think I'd ever leave this island again! Too much adventure can lead to some pretty nasty results, I've always said! Something I believe you have a bit of experience with, I believe…?" Red touched his nose knowingly. Banner gave him a somber look._

"_I wish everyday that I hadn't been so foolhardy. Its one thing to become a digger to support your family, but quite another to foolishly rush into danger and leave everything you care about behind._

_Banner looked down at his feet, studying the dirt covering his worn out boots. He remembered all too well the grief of losing his family, of losing Matilda. After blacking out on Forbidden Island, and waking up rescued, looking into the face of Maria on the outskirts of Yosyonske, it had been too much to bear. That night, at the hospital, was the first night of many when he would remember her voice, calling out to him, tearing at his very soul. He had cried that night, but had never cried again. He didn't want anyone to know what he had done; What he was responsible for…_

"_Perhaps this is a bit personal…" Red began, noting the faraway look in Banner's eyes as he looked at the ground, "But it seems as though you've only just now appeared. Forgive me, but Roll seems to have been looking for you two for so long, where have you been this whole time?"_

_It took Banner a few moments to respond. "Hiding... Wallowing in my own self pity and survivor's guilt. I had killed Matilda, as far as I knew, and I was alone, within sight of the accursed place that had stolen everything from me. I decided, after being rescued, to return to Forbidden Island, perhaps learn what had happened, but the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into years… I… I betrayed them… Their memory, and had gone on to live another life…"_

_Red pondered this for a moment. "Them? As in both Roll __**and**__ Matilda?"_

_Banner flinched visibly, as though Red had shouted at him, instead of asking him a simple question. "Roll… Yes, I betrayed her too. I had given up hope of ever finding Matilda again. All was lost to me?"_

"_But surely you went to go find Roll? Recover your own daughter, per say?"_

_Banner stiffened, and then sighed. "No… I did not… I knew that if I had gone to her, taken her back from Barrell, and went on with my life, I knew one day I would have to tell her what had happened to her mother, and I knew…. I knew if she found out the truth… She would leave me too, just like her mother. I couldn't take that kind of pain again!" _

_Banner looked pleadingly into Red's eyes, as though trying to convince him of this anguish, trying to justify the tears welling up in his eyes, "I was a coward! It was so much easier for me to just feign amnesia, to continue my life with Maria. But I think even she knew, in the end. She wanted to be with me, but she always knew I had lost something, or someone, to Forbidden Island, but she never asked. She accepted my story of ignorance and took me in anyway… I could never really tell Matilda that though…"_

_Red drummed his fingers upon his knee, "Matilda doesn't know about Maria?"_

_Banner looked ashamed once again. "Not really. I had told her that I never loved her, and that she was just the one who had rescued me, but now that she is back… That's all it has to be, right?"_

_Red smiled inwardly. This man was so full of skeletons and bad decisions; he could almost sense the walking disaster that this man represented. Even now, he assumed just leaving the woman he was planning on marrying, with a fake story, would be alright as long as he was with his original family? Did he not realize how incredibly idiotic he was, how no one in the world wouldn't recognize him or his daughter now? Did he honestly believe that peaceful existence was a possibility for him, and leaving this woman for the other would most likely end in his own estrangement from both, as well as his own daughter?_

_Well, if he did, Red sure wasn't going to alleviate these beliefs._

"_Of course, Banner, of course. You are acting to save your true family. This is the important point, I know you must think that you are just assuaging your own guilt for what you have done, but you are doing the right thing, and especially, I think, of coming to me with this." Red patted him on the back. "I consider myself to be an expert with relationships, albeit mostly of the business kind, but even so, I believe I can help you here…"_

_Banner looked at him hopefully, but Red looked up at the cloudless sky, apparently lost in his own thoughts, and he didn't elaborate. Banner had opened up to this man more than anyone in the last few years. Perhaps it was foolish to trust someone he had just met with this much information about himself, but having lost all hope long ago, and then having regained it so suddenly, he decided to throw caution to the wind, as this man was offering him everything he had ever hoped for._

_Banner sighed," I don't know what I should have done, but I know leaving both of them to their fates wasn't it. But now that that is all water under the bridge, we can move on, back to the way things were, and hopefully you can help me do that!" he ended hopefully._

_Red responded, without looking at him. "But what about Roll? Surely she is going to want to know what you have been doing all this time. It seems you are balancing too many things with lies, and that may not end well for you."_

_Banner considered him, obviously contemplating these heavy words. "She already knows that I have been suffering from 'amnesia'. Megaman would have told her by now. He frequented the bar where Maria worked a few times while he was searching in the ruins underneath the island. She told me."_

_Red straightened back up. "Hmm, well that may not be such a good thing, actually… It seems as though you have a problem you aren't quite seeing here."_

_Banner looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"_

_Red looked at him quite seriously, "Megaman, of course."_

_Banner laughed, "What are you talking about, that boy is a hero! To be perfectly honest, I don't believe that I could have found someone better to have taken my place in the family during my absence!"_

_Red shook his head sadly, as though Banner was ignorant of some vital piece of information. "Banner, before you sing his praises, you obviously haven't heard too much about him. He may have rescued an island or two, but don't you see what will happen? He's a danger, to you and your family!"_

_Banner looked at Red, with slight surprise in his eyes, "What are you talking about?"_

_Red continued, in a very grave tone. "That boy attracts more trouble than I could possibly believe. Look at him now! Gallivanting with pirates, off in space! Digging in ruins way beyond acceptable danger levels! And I think you and I both know the dangers of biting off more than you can chew!"_

_Banner blanched. The echo of Matilda's scream inside the original dropship seemed to echo through time. "But…But digging is always full of danger, it's a risky lifestyle, and sometimes they are unavoidable!"_

_Red shook his finger, "Ahh, but what he's doing isn't unavoidable, is it? He is almost running towards danger, a little something both you AND he have in common now, I think. What would you do if he did the same thing you did, with YOUR daughter? He also seems to be the one single link between your present life, and your past with Maria. Do you think he would be so keen as to just let all of this happen without telling Roll the truth? I think that your beautiful dream here on my island will be just a fairy tale with him in the way."_

_Banner's eyes bulged, "I… I never really thought about it like that…"_

"_Well of course you didn't! Everyone goes around singing his praises, but to be honest, I think the only reason he is still alive is because of your daughter's prodigious skill as an engineer. She is a genius, but he… well…he's reckless, and dangerous. Would you really want him continuing on in your family, even though he almost guarantees pain wherever he goes?"_

_Banner fidgeted._

"_Well… No… But what can I do? They have been together now for so long, he is almost family, I can't just force him to leave…"_

_Red smiled. "Banner, my boy, I don't think you should worry too much about Megaman anymore. After all, your family is back together, for good it appears, and I would think that settling down here would be an amazing idea! In fact, I'm quite sure with both you and your daughter being as amazing as you are in mechanics, and your wife's incredibly amazing story and talents, I would be hard pressed to not see how you would all flourish here! I think that it should be made clear that while he has been most helpful, it seems that now would be the perfect time to part ways, and give Roll a real chance at life. Do you think that she hasn't been hurt, living like a nomad, in a ship? She needs friends, room to grow, a house to live in, not a ship that she constantly needs to fix!"_

_Banner only gave a slight grin, which almost immediately turned into a grimace. "I want that more than anything, but I don't know how it can be done…"_

"_Listen…" Red said, lowering his voice conspiratorially to Banner, " I think we should just show Matilda and Roll how amazing it is here, and how much we all love them, and I'm sure they will feel just like you do. As for Megaman…" Red sighed dramatically, "I think you and I both know you are better off without him. As for Roll, she will be much safer and happier once he has moved on to bigger and better things. Let him worry about the digging and dangerous company he likes to have around him. Roll would much rather be with her family, don't you agree?"_

_Banner smiled again, this time for real. "She was so happy to see us. It has been a long time coming…"_

"_Well, that goes without saying!" Red barked, "I would hope that you wouldn't want to have someone like Megaman Volnutt get between you and your family, after all this time?"_

"_Well… No, but Matilda and Roll trust him, shouldn't I try to give him the benefit of the doubt, at least?"_

_Red shrugged his shoulders, "Do whatever you feel is right. But when you lose her again because of that blue boy, you may be singing a different tune…"_

_Banner considered this carefully, before replying, "I think you're right. In only the short space of time I've known him, he used two of my machines, one to fight pirates on, all while putting my daughter at risk…" Banner swelled up in rage. "If only I hadn't been so hurt down in the ruins before hand, I would have helped him, but instead he made her come, putting her life on the line and forcing that situation and guilt upon her. She even ran down into the ruins to come to my aid, with no equipment! She could have DIED! What was he thinking?" Banner was working himself into a frenzy of paternal rage._

"_He brought her to that horrible island, he made her work night and day on that stupid rocket to save him, and what has he given us? Nothing but problems and horrible scars!"_

_Red feigned shock at Banner's attitude, "Calm down Banner! I know what he did may not have been right…"_

"_You're damn right it wasn't!" Banner yelled, causing a few birds to fly off over the hospital roof. Banner watched them go, and seemed to calm himself somewhat. "….You were saying something about convincing her to stay here?" Banner finished._

"_Yes." Red said, standing up and walking past Banner, indicating that he should follow him. They passed through the main courtyard of the hospital, to look out over the water and the spectacular view from their vantage point. Red gestured down below them, and Banner followed his finger, where preparations for what appeared to be a large party were beginning to be set up. "Down there. Bleucher had the idea, but I thought it was a good one. We are planning on holding a 'Welcome Home Heroes' party for your daughter and her friends. Bleucher is in charge of the preparations, but I believe there will be many famous diggers there, as well as a few bands to play on stage. This is truly becoming a grand affair! I believe the eyes of the whole world are on us right now, and I think that would be the perfect way to show your wife and daughter how much we appreciate everything that they have done for us, don't you agree?"_

_Banner smiled and clapped Red on the back. "It looks wonderful! But how can I ever thank you enough for all of this?"_

_Red smiled at him, "Oh, it's nothing really. Just make sure that when the party starts, Roll can start her new life as well. Let her know what we have planned for her, alright?"_

"_Absolutely!"_

"_Well then!" Red said, clapping his hands together, and turning around, "I must be off, I was actually planning on meeting Bleucher in front of the hospital just now, so if you will excuse me, I'll be heading back that way. How about you go and meet up with Matilda again, I'm sure Roll is trying to see you both as we speak, she seemed well enough the last time I heard…"_

_With that, Red walked away, as Banner dashed back towards the hospital entrance. He had little time to contemplate what had just taken place, when a young voice called out to him from over a hedgerow. _

"_Mr. Red?"_

"_I'm over here!" Red called to the young man, who came running up to him. It was, in fact, Bensley. "Mr. Bleucher has been looking for you, he sent me to come find you."_

"_Ahh yes, thank you my dear boy. How are the preparations coming along?"_

"_Excellent, sir! We should be done with the stage very soon… But we all kind of wanted to go visit with Tron and Ira and Roll, if it were at all possible?"_

_Red's patience for the young man was wearing thin. His good mood from his triumph with Banner was fading, as he remembered why Bleucher was looking for him in the first place. "Do whatever you want, just lead me to Bleucher." Red snapped._

_Bensley looked slightly scared for a moment at the sudden change in mood the man had, and he pointed towards a large tree down the path a way, where a man in a blue suit could be seen standing in the shade. Without another word, Red swept of down the path, leaving Bensley in his dust. When he came upon Bleucher, he decided that he would let Bleucher say whatever he had to say before relating his news to him._

"_What do you want?" Red said in a tone that suggested menace._

_Bleucher looked imperiously at the man before him, as though suggesting that he did not wish to speak to Red any more than Red wished to speak to him. "I wished to speak to you about the finances for this festivity…"_

_Red smiled cruelly. "Ahh, I see, out of the money I've loaned you already? You seem to have quite expensive taste for a man who can't rub two Zenny together…"_

_Bleucher didn't falter. "I'm well aware of my financial situation, thank you very much, Red. However…"_

"_No, I don't think you are!" Red said in a tone of barely concealed laughter. "Your squandering of your own fortune is of no concern of mine, you reap what you sow, Bleucher; and now I think you are finally realizing that your time is up. You couldn't even start this party without me, and I know it's your last ditch effort to make back your fortune that you lost when the Sulphur Bottom was destroyed!"_

_Bleucher eyed the man warily. "I came to you in good faith for the money to accommodate us all and to help spread the word about the girls!"_

"_Like Hell you did, you came to me to advertise them, and to gain donations to their efforts, as well as yours. You gambled everything on recovering the Mother Lode and trusting in that Blue Brat, and it's not my problem when you need to go live in a gutter for the rest of your miserable life. So you better listen to me, and listen well. I'll forgive most of the debt that you owe me for maintaining your security detail and ownership of the large chunk of land on Calbania Island if you do exactly as I say."_

_Bleucher looked as though he was fighting back the urge to yell at the man, or to be sick. "….What do you want?"_

"_If you don't want your little secret coming out that I'm the one controlling your little purse strings, then I want you to turn over control of your guards to me. We will need them to patrol for our little party, now won't we? Hopefully you will get the money back from all the attention this will cause and we can go on our merry ways. But!" Red paused to let malice fill his voice, "I need you to make sure that you and all your little friends from space stay here. I want them around, and I don't feel like chasing them all over creation. Little Matilda seemed to be under the impression that you all need to leave to go do something, and I don't really know what that is…"_

_Bleucher gulped visibly._

"…_I need it to wait till I'm through, do you understand?"_

"…_Yes…"_

"_Good, now get out of here…"_

_Bleucher turned on his heel and walked away from Red, who stood, watching his back disappear from view. It had not escaped his noticed that Bleucher seemed to know a bit more than he was letting on about the situation with the Mother Lode. He would need to be careful. He didn't want any of them leaving the island to go looking for it before he did, and he certainly didn't want Bleucher messing around where he shouldn't be…_

"_I think I'll be attending this particular party, just to be safe…"_

__

PRESENT

Red waited for all the cheers to die down, looking out over the crowd. An incredible assortment of people had come to witness this event. He could see what appeared to be hundreds of airships flying around, many of them News ships, covering the events. He couldn't help but be excited for what was happening, even if the festivities were meant for someone else. He looked over at the small group of young adults, and grinned wickedly.

Ira was looking out over the crowd as well, feeling slightly sick. She had just caught sight of the KTOX TV ship, and knew that, back home, her friends would be watching this, and she wondered what was going to happen next. She looked over, trying to catch Megaman's eye, but he seemed to be whispering to Roll, who looked visibly shaken. What was going on?

The crowd cheered again, and Tron shifted uncomfortably on her feet. This was starting to get ridiculous. She wasn't there to be praised for being smart or brave. She was there because she had wanted to save Megaman; that's it, end of story. Anger pulsed in her veins. She wanted, more than anything, to escape off this stage and get as far away from this crowd as possible. She leaned forward and turned to look at Megaman and Roll, still talking in low voices. Roll was looking decidedly green. Tron smirked. Well, if Blondie can't handle this crowd, then she couldn't handle Megaman either.

"I guess I'll just have to take him with me then…" Tron drooled.

Suddenly, as if on cue with Tron's thoughts, the whole world exploded. The entire stage shook with an earsplitting, grinding roar, as the entire backdrop was torn apart. Pandemonium began to set in, as huge flying warships began flying overhead, shooting out among the spectators as they began to run for their lives. Everything had suddenly become something out of a terrible nightmare. Red was screaming out orders, his hands over his head to protect himself, but no one heard him in the complete destruction that was happening all around him. Suddenly, and most horribly, the entire stage began to fall apart, as a gigantic ship plowed through the back of the stage, sending debris flying in all directions, with a familiar insignia upon the prow. Before she could do anything about it, a large wooden plank came pelting out at her, and Ira was knocked completely unconscious. She fell to the ground, while Aero crouched at her side. The ship loomed up behind them, as Megaman held Roll behind his back in a protective stance, his mind working furiously for a way out of the situation, when suddenly, the ship halted, and the hatch blew open at the top.

And there, in all his pirate glory, stood Teisel Bonne.

"HAHAHAAHAHAHA! WHY HELLO THERE, EVERYONE! SO GLAD YOU COULD JOIN US FOR ALL THE FESTIVITIES! WELL I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I'M GLAD YOU'RE ALL HERE!"

"I'VE BEEN TIRED OF ACTING THE REPENTANT SOUL FOR THESE PAST FEW WEEKS, IT'S JUST BEEN SO…. **BORING!** SO INSTEAD, THE BONNES HAVE BEEN ROBBING YOU ALL BLIND WHILE YOUR BACKS HAVE BEEN TURNED! HAHA! IT'S THE GREATEST HEIST ANYONE HAS EVER PULLED OFF!" Teisel tilted his head back and let out one of his trademark peals of laughter.

Servbots began to pour out of the ship, with guns blazing, but all the resistance that would have been put up by Red's security had been taken completely by surprise.

"YOU CAN'T KEEP A PIRATE DOWN FOR LONG, EH TRON?" Teisel said, laughing and turning towards his sister. Tron smiled the first genuine smile since seeing Megaman for the first time on Elysium. Finally, after all this time, she felt _**right**_. She had missed the old Teisel, and the fun they used to have. All the worrying and fretting over Megaman had driven it all completely from her head. But now…

"Of course not, Teisel!" She jumped on board the ship, to many screams of anger and confusion. "I think it's high time we show these people that no one can keep the Bonnes down for long!"

Red's face was contorted with rage. "How dare you?" He screamed. "This is the END for you Teisel Bonne!"

"Draches! He he he… FIRE!" Teisel yelled, cackling all the while, point at Red, who was forced to run from the ruins of the stage, being peppered all around by random gunfire.

Megaman, still holding Roll, shouted over the din, "Teisel? Tron, what are you doing?"

Teisel laughed. "Oh I know all about your story, Blue Boy. Don't worry about THAT. But BLEUCHER has got another thing coming if he thinks he can keep US tied down on this little island, like his own personal DOGS!"

The man in question, Bleucher, extracted himself from the rubble. "What is the meaning of this? What are you doing?"

"We aren't staying here anymore, BLEUCHER! I can see right through you! You want to keep us all here against our will for your own gains, well Teisel Bonne is no fool!"

He gestured towards the crowd, swelling back now in anger at Teisel's words, the cameras clicking furiously. "Thanks to all of their gracious contributions, we've made back even more than we spent on those ridiculous rockets! But now we have much more pressing issues at hand, like getting the heck out of here!"

Tron, looking down at Megaman and Roll, suddenly had a moment of guilt. She couldn't leave them like this, now that she was in on the plan, and had promised to help them stop Elysium. "Teisel, we may need them too! We can't just leave them here!"

"I'm afraid you're right, Tron, that's why I took the liberty of docking the Flutter inside the Gesellschaft earlier, and Barrell is eh… 'comfortable' inside!"

"ROLL!" a voice yelled from behind them. It was Banner. "Come on Roll, over here, get away from them, before they hurt you!"

Roll looked at her father, and hesitated.

Banner seemed to see right through her. "We can figure out what to do about them later!" He ducked as more fire came from the Draches, and the large warship Teisel was aboard began to lift into the air, blowing Tron and Teisel's hair in the high wind. "Come back with us!" He screamed over the wind.

"What about Gramps?" Roll shouted over the roaring wind, and could see security ships flying in their direction.

"COME ON!" Tron yelled, holding out her hand to Aero, who was lifting Ira on to the ship. "We need to leave now, Blondie!"

"You can't honestly be thinking about leaving with pirates?" Banner screamed, looking at Megaman as though it was his fault. Megaman looked affronted. "Be careful who you choose to live your life with, young lady!"

Roll was completely torn. All her life she had been hoping and waiting to be with her parents again, to be happy with them. She had thought she had slipped into a dream, these past few hours, but it had slowly become a nightmare! How could her father make her choose between them…. And _him_…

She stood frozen, unable to respond, looking at her father in fury for what he had done to her. Megaman, not understanding at all what was happening between them, grabbed her hand as explosions started all around them.

She looked at him, looked into his green eyes, and knew what her answer was, what it had always been…

"TRON!" She yelled up at the female pirate, who was too high up now to reach. Tron nodded in understanding, and gestured to someone behind her. Bon Bonne jumped from out of the cabin, with his trademark "Babu!" and landed between Megaman and Roll and her father. Scooping them up in his big arms, he floated away, as gunfire exploded around them, finally answering the Bonne's onslaught. Both were thrown unceremoniously into the cabin of the cruiser, and as soon as the hatch had closed, they rocketed forward, blowing Banner, Red, and many spectators onto their backs as they raced past the oncoming security news and security ships.

****"Breaking News here! We have just witnessed the Bonnes, notorious pirating family, attacking the festivities here, claiming to have stolen all the goods from the stores and people staying here and on Calbania the entire time! That dirty scoundrel Teisel Bonne was behind it all, and it appears his sister was complacent. Before departing, they kidnapped Megaman Volnutt and Roll Caskett, and are attempting some sort of get away!" ****

Megaman and Roll hit the floor of the ship hard, and then were rocked back against the bulkhead of the ship as it flew as fast as it could towards the massive green airship on the other side of the island which had, unbeknownst to anyone at the festivities, already begun its take off, with Draches buzzing around like flies.

"This is Tron! Start the engines for full ahead! We are gonna need to leave in a hurry!"

"Yes Miss Tron!" Servbot 16 answered on the intercom.

Teisel was laughing fit to burst. "Did you see their faces? They couldn't believe that I, Teisel Bonne, could commit such a cunning and elaborate plan right under their idiotic noses! HAHAHAHA!" Teisel was beside himself. Tron, however, turned around to face her friends lying in various states of disarray upon the floor of the cockpit. "What are you doing here?" She gestured at Aero, who seemed to be thinking something along the same lines.

"I…I needed to help Ira get out of there, she was hurt when…."

"Whatever, just stay out of the way, got it? You're lucky you helped Ira or I would throw you out the back door right now!"

Megaman was a little surprised by this. Apparently Tron had grown quite fond of Ira, despite her usually acidic demeanor. He turned to Roll, who had made no effort whatsoever to right herself on the floor, but was instead curled up as though to avoid being lashed by some unknown assailant. "Roll?"

Roll didn't move, but a sob could be heard. Megaman gently pulled her up, as the ship raced by a few more military ships, which were firing at them like mad. "Roll, what's wrong, are you alright? What happened back there, what did he mean by all that?"

Roll looked at him quite seriously, but then looked away again, "I…. I can't explain… I just made a choice, that's all." She stood up quite abruptly, not able to face his tender eyes at the moment, and joined Tron at the front of the ship. "What's the plan then?"

Tron stood shocked at Roll's new demeanor. She looked hard, but slightly shaken. Tron reached for the controls herself, knocking Number 4 out of the way. "We are in trouble, that's for sure. Teisel never really thinks about his end strategy when he's planning." She looked at Megaman, who had come up to join them. "Something you instilled in him, I think, usually he's so busy patting himself on the back he ends up ruining everything else.

She looked around, and sure enough, Teisel and Bon were celebrating their recent victory over Bleucher and Red, so much so that they had inadvertently left Tron to pick up all the pieces. She rolled her eyes and continued. "The entire world was watching that broadcast, and I've never seen this many ships trying to attack us at once! The Gesellschaft is strong, but I don't think we can take them all without going down ourselves!"

Megaman looked out over the expanse of green between them and the Gesellschaft which was already accelerating away from them, in order to get a slight head start on their tail. "But we can't outrun them in that thing, can we?"

Tron laughed. "Don't be so sure about that, she's big and lunky, but those are powerful engines back there, I would never try this alone…but…" Tron looked at Roll significantly. "If there is anybody who can push those engines to their max to get us out of there, it's you."

Megaman almost needed to sit down in shock. What the heck had happened between these two while he was on Elysium? He couldn't believe his ears. Roll, however, simply nodded and laid a hand gently on Tron's shoulders, in what was clearly a sign of assurance that she understood exactly what Tron had meant behind her words.

Suddenly Aero piped up behind them, causing them all to jump, for they had forgotten she was there. "We may be able to outrun them now, but Red isn't going to stop there. He's going to hunt you all down, he's a ruthless man!"

Teisel chose to respond to this "Ha Ha Ha! Let him! With the money we got from this heist, WE'LL be the ones who get the last laugh! Look who has egg on his face now! Besides, we've all got a job to do now, don't we Barrell?"

They all turned around, to see Gramps face on a monitor beside Teisel, who had apparently been having his own conversation with the older man during Tron's tirade about not having an endgame. Megaman smiled to himself. Never underestimate old Teisel Bonne!

"That's Right! I'll explain later, but Bleucher and Red aren't exactly trying to help us, kids. I thought it was odd that Bleucher wanted us all to stay there, when he knew that the whole world was at risk, and I figured something was wrong, and I found out Red was behind it, and he wanted us to stay on the island indefinitely, and I knew we would have to escape!"

"And leave it to good old ME to think about HOW!" Teisel smiled. That old blowhard ALWAYS did get on my nerves, serves him right!"

"Now now, Teisel…" Barrell waved a finger at him, "there must be something else going on between them we don't know about. Bleucher is my oldest friend, and he agrees with me that something must be…"

"CAN YOU TWO NOT SEE WHAT IS GOING ON?" Tron screamed at them, throwing a wrench at her brother, but missing and hitting the monitor instead, smashing it to pieces. The plane lurched for a second, until Roll caught it with the hand she wasn't using to hold on for dear life. The Gesellschaft was in front of them now, huge and intimidating. "Tron, how are you planning on getting onboard the ship while we are flying at this speed, we can't dock like this?"

Tron smiled, a twinkle in her eye, as she lifted the ship over the Gesellschaft, which was moving faster and faster, about to outstrip the airship they were flying in. She jammed her finger to a large red button on her left, and the entire ship roared with the sound of the wind flying in from the back, which had begun to open slowly.

Megaman gaped at the door. "Oh no…"

"Oh YES!" Teisel said, laughing maniacally. "Good idea Tron! But I think I can top it!" He ran over to the back of the ship, pressing a few switches, as countless Bonne bombs came pouring into the compartment. "Let's send them a little gift when we depart, hahahaha!"

All five of them stared as Teisel lit the fuse on one of the bombs.

"Teisel, wait!" Tron yelled, but it was too late, the bomb began to count down.

"Everyone off the ship, NOW!" Megaman yelled, grabbing Roll and pulling her and Tron towards the back of the ship. "Go!" He pushed them towards the back, while the Gesellschaft raced underneath them through the sky. Megaman grabbed Ira gently, as Teisel and Bon jumped out of the back, and falling not too gracefully onto the deck. All four of them stood, Megaman holding Ira, looking at each other for a split second, then jumping, with Aero letting out a little scream of fear. And just in time. The ship they had been riding in suddenly began to be outstripped by the Gesellschaft, falling behind, as the ship began to descend with no one holding the wheel. Many of the safety ships, right behind them, seized their opportunity, and opened fire on the craft. The resulting explosion knocked all the ships out of the air, spiraling out of control. Everyone appeared to be jumping out with parachutes for their own safety. All four hit the deck, with only Megaman keeping his feet, as he landed with a powerful thud, still holding Ira who had begun to stir in his arms. Tron and Roll fell onto their hands and knees, while Aero was buffeted by the wind, causing her to roll slightly but was able to stop herself before losing control.

"Quick! Everyone inside!"

"wha… what's going on?" Ira stammered, as a small hatch opened and they began to get inside the warship. She looked up at Megaman, running along the deck with her, and blushed profusely. "Uh, I can walk on my own now, Megaman…?"

"Good!" Megaman said, dropping her almost a little too quickly in his haste "Cause we are in big trouble!"

"Why is it you are ALWAYS in trouble, Megaman?" Ira said, as she climbed down the ladder, "And why do I always need to save you?"

Megaman couldn't help but laugh. "Because of your coolness under fire?"

"You're damn right!" Ira said, and then squeaked in fear when the ship began to be fired upon once again, losing her grip and falling on her butt at the bottom of the ladder, with Megaman landing softly behind her.

"Slick…"

She stuck out her tongue at him. Tron glanced at them all in what appeared to be a rather large main hallway, but the sight was lost upon Megaman, as Tron began to yell out orders.

"Teisel! Head to the bridge, tell them I'm on the way! Bon, get as many Servbots as you can and man the guns! Ira, you should go with him, you're a pretty good shot. Megaman! Get to the Flutter and get your equipment, we won't survive this unless you get back up there and take them all down!"

Megaman looked aghast "I can't shoot them down! There are innocent people in there! Police!"

Roll grabbed his hand. "Use the Parabola gun! Take out their defenses with your weapons, but use the parabola gun to stop them if they get too close! I made a weaponized version of it to come and rescue you; it's with the rest of your equipment!"

"Ok… but…?" Megaman said, looking at the retreating forms of Teisel, Bon and Ira, and looking totally lost.

"Just follow the blue line along the floor; they are color coded because the Servbots used to get lost in here too! Go now!" Tron yelled, and watched him race off down the corridor. "You!"

She pointed at Aero. "Ever navigated before?"

"Well… no… I…" Aero began, but Tron cut her off with a wave of her hand. "Can you read a map?"

"Well of course I can…" Aero started again, slightly bristling at Tron's flippant demeanor towards her.

"Fine, whatever, you're coming with me to the bridge, I need to fly, but someone needs to find the safest place for us to go to next, so come on, Purple line, that way, go NOW!" Tron yelled, and Aero, completely out of her element, started walking, totally unsure of herself.

Tron looked at Roll intensely. "We aren't gonna make it out of this easily, and that's gonna depend on you."

Roll looked back at her. "Which color?"

"Black. That way." She pointed towards the opposite end of the hallway, away from everyone else.

Roll nodded and dashed away, both Tron and Roll with fear in their hearts. Both of them knew what Tron meant behind her words, but neither had to say it. They were mechanical geniuses after all. Roll knew Tron was planning on going flat out, and using that much energy and at that speed, there was a good chance the entire ship would explode. If Roll didn't stop it, and they may all die. She turned a corner, and saw the entrance to the Engine Room, which was incredibly massive. She saw a large tool box next to the door. Time to get to work.

The ship raced ahead, but was quickly becoming surrounded by armed ships. Megaman dashed up through the manhole once again, this time in full blue armor, ready to face what waited above him. "Tron, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Megaman, we need to buy Roll time, she needs to do a bit of engineering really quickly to get us out of here, but she won't be able to if they blow out our engines before then!"

*kcthchhh* "Ok, I found the intercom; we are ready to go down here Tron!" Ira's voice came out of the speaker in Megaman's armor. He seemed to be patched to all the networks in the Gesellschaft. "Please try not to hurt them, Ira!"

"We won't! I promise!" A burst of fire came from a nearby gun, and Megaman watched as it pelted through a wing of a nearby pursuer, causing them to veer off-course. "It's kind of like playing Galaga!" she laughed.

"Alright…" Megaman said, standing out in the whipping air, readying his buster gun. "Come on Roll…"

But it was silent from the engine room.

Tron was hurtling over the dark ground, which had until recently been covered with ocean. Not sparing this another thought, she began winding left and right to break up patterns of pursuers. She looked at Aero quickly. "What's the second closest island to here?"

Aero looked at the map. "Second, but don't we…?"

"No, we don't. They are of course going to check the neighboring islands for us, because most ships can't make it past that. The only way we are gonna get out of this is if we can out run them and out distance them… so _**give me the next available island**_!"

"Uhh… Uhhh…" Aero said, her eyes tracking their trajectory and likely destinations. "It looks like Summer Island! But it's really small…"

"Ugh! Does that matter?" Tron yelled, rolling her eyes.

"It does if you want to hide a big bulking ship like this one!" Aero retorted, heating up again. The rest of them she adored, but Tron didn't seem too enthralled with her, and she didn't know why.

"…..Good point…"Tron said, grinding her teeth at this new bit of information. "Well, we don't have much of a choice, so Summer it is, give me the coordinates!"

Roll was panting in exertion. Her writing all over the floors and walls as she wrote out complex equations in a marker she found, assuming that Tron had on more than one occasion done the same thing. She manically ripped apart electrical boards and rewired systems. Finally, it seemed to be ready. The moment of truth finally came, and to see if all of her hard work completely remaking the engine system for this moment would either save them, or destroy them.

"Everyone… It's Roll… Hold on tight to something, this is gonna get really messy!"

She brandished a large hammer, eyeing the governors that controlled the Halcyon Refractor spin control. She ran at the mechanical device, swinging her hammer as hard as she could, and crushing a part of the governor with the swing. Everyone could hear the clanging ring as she battled with the tough metal casing. Knowing she only had a few seconds before catastrophic error, she swung again, and this time, the governor casing came off, and her hammer crushed into the delicate controls surrounding the heart of the machinery. Suddenly, there was a small explosion, and she was suddenly shocked quite violently through the hammer, and was sent across the room. The governor was completely destroyed, and the refractor began to spin faster and faster. All the lights in the engine room grew brighter and brighter, then completely shattering, and all was illuminated by the powerful glow of the gigantic refractors that powered the vessel. She pulled herself painfully up, and closed all the circuits by heaving down a few levers. Then she went into the machinery and attempted to reroute all of the cooling apparatuses to help aid in what she was planning on doing. On her way there, she kicked the emergency release lever with her toned, slightly burnt leg, and a Klaxon warning sounded throughout the entire ship.

*Warning! Catastrophic Meltdown Danger Detected! Power Levels reaching critical levels!* A Servbot voice called out.

"Punch it Tron, or we are all going down!" Roll's voice yelled through the noise.

Tron obliged, pushing the throttle into the red.

It was immediate. Megaman was completely taken off of his feet, and sent hurtling through the air, completely off the ship, but managed to grab a railing before being thrown off completely. He hadn't been expecting such a huge force. In fact, the only people who seemed to know what was going to happen was Tron and Roll, as everyone was thrown into the walls and the floor, apart from the two of them. The Pirate in the front and the Engineer in the back, both took control of the entire situation, as the ships behind them watched in awe as the entire ship blew into a record breaking speed, and was soon past their reach. The entire ship groaned from the pressure, as Roll tighten the holdings on the engine, and Tron expertly streamlined the vessel through the clouds, slightly raising the ship to reduce frictional forces from tearing it apart.

"340% power! Can we cool it down to decrease damage?"

"Yes! Give me a second… There!"

The ship hurtled through the air, on a dead straight course. There would be no turning of the ship, it was too dangerous. Megaman's feet met the deck again, and he watched as the sun was going down in front of him, his eyes squinting against the wind. He needed to make it back inside, before he was blown off the ship!

Roll was thinking the same thing, but was completely unable to voice her thoughts, as the work she needed to do was taking every ounce of skill and speed she had. Ira, however, voiced this fear for her, after seeing him struggle against the wind.

"We've lost them, Tron! You need to slow down, or Megaman could get blown of the ship!"

Everyone's hearts pounded to these words, and her tone of voice.

"I can't slow down! Not yet! We need to decrease energy consumption to normal levels, if I try to stop now, the refractors will explode! How is he doing?"

"He's barely holding on! Tron someone needs to help him, fast!"

"Nobody move!" Teisel yelled unexpectedly behind Tron. "If anyone tries to help him, they'll be blown off the ship! His armor and his strength is the only thing keeping him on, I hate to say it, but Megaman may be in trouble here!"

"NO!" Roll screamed "NONONONO!" she picked herself up from under the machinery she was working on. Tron could sense her agony, and she was feeling it herself.

_Megaman…_ _What have I done?_

"Tron, we have to do something! " Roll's voice called through the intercom.

"Roll… I don't know…"

"I'm going to flood the refractor housing! It's the only way to slow the spin enough to allow an emergency stop!"

"It's too dangerous! Even if it works, we will certainly crash, and the refractors will be totally destroyed! We are in the middle of the Ocean!"

Tron looked out… There was still no water… It was possible that they would crash, but she could slow them down enough that it would do minimal damage to the Gesellschaft. The only people that would be in real danger were Roll and Megaman.

"….Do it!" Tron said, closing her eyes. But Roll was already starting. She wasn't about to let Megaman get blown off the ship, not if she could do anything about it. The chambers began to flood with diverted water from the coolant system, and the refractors began to whine as their progress was being halted.

"Yes…Yes… Come on…."

Tron saw the monitor blink for a second into the yellow.

Close enough.

"We are going down! Everyone brace for impact! Megaman, get inside the ship NOW!"

The ship stalled in the air, and began to hurtle towards the ground.

"Ira, Bonne! Blow a path for us! We can still save the ship!"

The resulting bomb fire blew a channel through the ground below, making a horrifying landing strip.

"Roll, you need to get out of there, **NOW**!"

"But…"

"No, you need to leave, there isn't anything else you can do, and I don't know what will happen when we hit the ground…"

"Alright…"

Roll raced to the door, and took one final look at the engine room, which had completely been torn apart due to her ministrations.

Megaman raced for the hatch as the ground came up to meet them, and had managed to get it open and drop all the way down inside, landing crumpled into the main hallway, just as the Gesellschaft crushed into the ground, and everyone inside was thrown violently, and the world was chaos and confusion.

**So I'm really sorry this took so long. I've had to do medical school stuff, and for a while I lost hope in the Legends story because of the cancellation of Legends 3. However, one of the reviews I got told me not to give up on the fans, and I decided to continue on. I had trouble starting at first, because I had lost that will to make it, but it was easy once I started writing again. And I thought, as today is my birthday, I would give myself a little present: a posting of the next chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating like this, cause now that I'm done with my classes for the moment, all I am doing is work and volunteering, so I should have a lot more free time.**

**So this chapter was meant to kind of explain what the hell happened and why Banner and Red are douche bags in their own way. I found it odd, playing through the games, that Banner had "amnesia", yet somehow remembered Roll. Or if he didn't have it, he was too much of a coward to do anything about it, and just let her go. I figured the only real way to explain it is that he thought she was better off without him, and he couldn't handle the guilt of killing Matilda. Either way, he's kind of a dick. And so is Red. I kind of was surprised by Bleucher though. I really didn't think that that was how it was going to come out, but while I was writing, I was like "Bleucher kind of was being a dick about them staying though, I wonder why?" and boom. That happened. Because he's a poor, conniving sonuvabitch hahaha.**

**Soulless Soundless Lost: The reason for a switch in Aero's background was because of an original retcon I did when I actually started hearing about the game from members of a forum I frequent. I must have just missed one of the things she said. I didn't really make it too plot important, just to set her up for the rest of the story. Also, the beginning of chapter ten was designed just to give a background of stuff most people already knew. It was actually a funny conversation I had about that with a bunch a people about how I should handle that sort of situation. I could have just done a "fade to black" or like "Megaman explained in detail what he learned on Elysium" then just start up again with everyone's reactions, but I don't know, a lot of people who read this didn't understand the game, and plus, I just wanted it all to fit into canon. I see where you are coming from there, and it was definitely argued. I don't remember the reasoning behind it, just ignore it lol. Yeah, I didn't and still don't really have a beta, so that's why its been difficult, and I usually just sit and write it all out in a big chunk, so when I'm done I just freaking post it… Like now actually… so let me know what else I screw up haha.**

**Milleniumslacker2000: Obviously my grammar and spelling have gotten worse… maybe I should edit this more closely… ughh so much work!**

**Lord Vectrex: I cry nightly because of that, trust me**

**NeoSpearBlade: Dude, I'm so sorry haha. I love seeing your posts telling me to hurry up, cause they make me feel guilty, and nothing makes good writing like guilt! Haha**

**2****nd**** comment: I actually love these reviews the most. I love reading the reactions to each part, they always make me laugh.**

**Mega cat and GYY: Thanks guys, means a lot**

**Sunnychance: Haha, yeah, I started writing this before they did that. But why stop there? And as for the pairing… Well… They all seem to have a shot at this point, don't they? We'll see.**


	14. Chapter 12: Landing's Aftermath

CHAPTER 12: LANDING'S AFTERMATH

Megaman opened his eyes very slowly, trying to work through the dense fog in his head. He didn't quite remember where he was or what had happened. He felt hard metal beneath him, and gingerly rolled onto his back, expecting the worst. He didn't feel any pain, and he suddenly remembered why he was on the ground in the first place.

His eyes snapped completely open.

To his surprise, it didn't appear as though there was any damage to the ship that he could noticeably see. The hallway in which they had entered earlier did show signs of some damage, with a few lights blown out and the glass lying pell-mell upon the floor, but he felt that they had somehow, miraculously, come out of the ordeal in one piece.

Megaman got to his feet, listening for any sounds that would indicate in which direction he should proceed. The Gesellschaft was a large ship, and he really didn't know what to do at the moment. Fortunately, he didn't need to wait very long. Over the intercom a familiar voice echoed through the otherwise silent hallway in a rather subdued tone.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Is everyone alright?"

Tron's voice seemed a little bit shaky. He realized that her voice had been the sound that had roused him after his fall, and she was apparently worried that no one would answer, perhaps had been calling out repeatedly for a while.

"I hear you Tron…" Megaman spoke into his intercom. His voice sounded a bit hoarse, but apart from that, he seemed to be just fine.

"Oh my god, Megaman! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine…"

"Nobody is answering me, Megaman. We need to find everyone. That wasn't an easy landing…"

Megaman began walking in a random direction down the hallway. "Hear you loud and clear on that one… Where should I go?"

At the bridge, things weren't quite so pretty. Servbots and crew were scattered all over the room in various states of disarray. Aero was attempting to untangle herself from Teisel Bonne, who had been sent flying through the back wall, destroying an electrical panel with his bulky frame. Teisel, lying upside down, was busy willing himself not to be sick. Tron, having recovered almost immediately after the crash, had worked her way through the random debris and broken machinery to the com-station, in order to discover the whereabouts of her friends. At the moment, Tron was feeling a distinct thrill of fear. Her ship, her beautiful ship, was destroyed. Not only that, she had a feeling that something terrible had happened to someone, and she was most worried about Megaman and, surprising even herself, Roll. Both had been in very serious danger during the crash, and this little escape may have cost them much more than she would have guessed.

Hearing Megaman's voice answer her anguished cries after a full ten minutes of hailing the ship on the communications board brought palpable relief to her heart. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him, now that she was so close to having him after all this time.

Of course, she wasn't the type to just let herself break down, especially now that her home had just crash-landed into a ravine.

"Well, I should have known your hard head could have taken a beating. I've given you one or two myself to prove that!"

Megaman smirked. There was the Tron he knew and loved.

"Glad to hear you haven't lost your wit in the accident, Tron. What should I do?"

Tron thought about it for a second. "Head towards the gunnery, where Ira and Bon went before you went to retrieve your equipment. Follow that same color into you reach them, and find out if their ok. We will meet you there!"

Megaman began to run at a brisk pace, following the line as it zigzagged through various hallways and rooms. As he began to take in his surroundings, he realized that this was the first time he had ever been onboard his "enemy's" ship, and he couldn't help but be impressed. Through their various robberies and schemes, the Bonnes had really built quite a magnificent ship, equal even to the Sulphur Bottom. As he ran, he saw a large technology lab where he knew Tron would have spent most of her time, and he even ran past the cafeteria, which reminded him strongly of pictures Gramps used to show him of schools on the islands when he and Roll were very young. He had always liked the idea of being able to eat with all of your friends at once. But as a Digger's life is so solitary, and never really confined to any specific area for too long, he never had the experience himself. The wasn't to say that he wasn't educated. Gramps, and even Roll had taught him plenty of things. He was actually quite smart, although he never seemed to have the ability to show it, given the recent events in which the ability to shoot accurately almost always won out over the amount of knowledge he had. It still irked him that the citizens of Manda Island had been so shocked when he completely destroyed the Mayor's quiz.

This ship, however, was a testament to the genius that was Tron Bonne. While the rest of their family had a say in the decorations, he was sure that the structure and function of the ship had been all Tron. The hallways were all painted in a pleasant mint green color; most likely Teisel's choice, and as he raced down them, he started to think about Tron Bonne a bit more than he had of late. Really, she had caused him plenty of issues in his Digging, but I think that he could finally admit even to himself that they weren't at all bad people. And Tron… Well… He had started to feel the same way about her that he did about Roll.

But he couldn't quite articulate it to anyone, even if they had asked…

Finally, he reached a large door that he knew to be the entrance to the gunnery. He stepped forward, and the door hissed open for him, revealing quite a horrendous scene. Bon Bombs littered the floor of a room that was clearly designed for Servbots, being as cramped as it was, but at present was completely in shambles. Cannons were strewn about helter skelter, with random shell casings peppering the floor, having been knocked out of their canisters by the force of the crash. Most alarming of all, however, was the large yellow figure dangling from a plethora of wires from the ceiling, like some sort of deranged puppet master's idea of a marionette. A shapely figure underneath this odd sight was jumping up and down, trying to reach the helpless giant's restraints to try and pull him down.

"If I….Can just…. Grab…. That…. Wire!" Her hand finally found what it was searching for, yanking down on a large red wire that had been wrapped around Bon's body, releasing him from the wire's restraint. Unfortunately, Ira happened to be right underneath, her look of triumph quickly switching to panic as the large yellow bus that was Bon fell down on top of her.

"Ira!" Megaman yelled, rushing to her aid.

"Ugh… Didn't really think that one through, did I?" Ira's muffled voice came from underneath the hulk of Bon, who rolled off of her gently and resumed floating above the ground, while Megaman helped Ira to her feet. "Glad to see you're ok, Megaman…"

"Yeah, you too. I can't believe we made it away from there, I thought we were goners for sure!" Megaman said rubbing the back of his head and smiling at her. There was something in his heart for this girl as well… What was wrong with him?

"Oh, I think it went rather well. To be honest, I can't stand being in front of crowds. The farther away from them I am, the happier I am, even if we just trashed our only way of getting home…"

Megaman hadn't really considered that. If the Gesellschaft wasn't functional, they would be trapped out in this desert. Who knows what would happen to them then?

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The Flutter was docked, maybe we can use it to get out of here…"

Ira looked around at the destroyed defensive equipment and then looked back at Megaman. "Is everyone ok? What's going on?"

Megaman looked back towards the door. "Tron is on her way right now, I'm assuming that Teisel, Aero, and Roll are with her, cause she said they were all going to meet us here. I don't know about Gramps… I mean, Professor Barrell…"

Ira bit her lip nervously. "Roll was down in the engine room… Maybe we should…"

At that moment, Tron came bursting in, followed closely by her brother and Aero, who put her hand to her face in shock at the scene which met her eyes. "Oh no! This looks horrible! Megaman, Ira, are you hurt?"

Ira smiled at Aero. "We're fine. Just another day in the life of a digger, TRUST me." Ira rolled her eyes in a way that conveyed long suffering. Aero smiled back, placated by her new friend's obvious nonchalance and sarcasm.

Teisel was, however, completely oblivious to their conversation, having completely broken down at the sight of the destruction. "My precious CANNON! My MACHINE GUNS! Oh this is going to cost a FORTUNE! After all this time and effort, we have to go and destroy my BEAUTIFUL Gesellschaft! I'll tell you one thing, if I had known my fantastic getaway would have ended up like THIS, I would have gone QUIETLY!" Teisel practically bawled.

Tron's hands reached for her temples in frustration. "Teisel, you've never done anything _quietly_, now shut up…"

She walked over to Megaman and Ira, her eyes finding Megaman's. Megaman looked down into her eyes and said softly, "Are you alright?"

Tron blushed a brilliant shade of red, averting her gaze quickly, and snapped "Of course I am, this isn't my first rodeo, you know…"

Megaman saw her turn away. He stepped forward and brought her into a very warm hug. He spoke into her ear, "Thank you for rescuing us again, and rescuing me from Elysium, I don't think I ever got the chance to tell you that."

Tron's knees buckled. She would have never dreamed for a moment like this, and her arms somehow slowly wrapped back around him.

Suddenly realizing exactly what was happening, she shoved him hard in the chest, sending him stumbling back a few paces. "Well you should be! This whole mess is YOUR fault!" She said, her mind whirring around in her head.

"Uh, didn't you just rob an entire town and shoot at a crowd of people to make your escape?" Ira said, raising her hand in the air, as though trying to call Tron back down to Terra.

Teisel ground his teeth together. "We were so CLOSE to making it this time. Without Blue Boy in our way I thought we had it made… And don't worry about the town, we only wanted to scare them off, not hurt anyone. We're pirates, but we're not BARBARIANS!"

Megaman smiled a little at the familiar phrase. He certainly did seem to know what he was doing…

Most of the time…

Suddenly, without warning, Megaman let out a little gasp of shock and fear. "Roll! Tron, where is Roll?"

Tron was startled by his reaction, but immediately felt the same pang of fear that was etched upon Megaman's face. "She… She never answered, she was in the engine room the last time…"

"Where is it?" The look on Megaman's face was truly frightening. Tron had never seen him like this before. Somewhere deep down, a menacing growl of jealously bubbled up, but never escaped her lips. She herself was much too worried about their present situation.

Ira, however, was just as anxious. "Come on! We need to go find her! Now!"

Megaman once again had to appreciate Ira's readiness for action, and determination for her friends. He followed her as she ran down the hallway he had just come from, while Teisel's voice echoed behind them. "Follow the black line!"

It took them several minutes to reach the engine room, but as they turned the corner to face the door…

"Oh no…" Aero said, moving past Ira and trying to see into the ruins of the hallway. It looked as though a bomb had blown up within the room, sending the doors flying out against the opposite wall. Fire still licked some of the random debris, and there, lying amongst the rubble…

"ROLL!"

Megaman flew past the group, and dropped to his knees, skidding the last few paces on the hard plating on his armor, and coming to rest at Roll's side. He cradled her head in his hands, whispering "Wake up! Wake up Roll!"

Slowly, Roll's eyes opened at his words. "Megaman…" it was a very faint sound, as though she was still sleeping and had merely responded in a dream… 'I… Love…"

Then she came fully around, and opened her eyes at Megaman. "Megaman! You're ok!"

Megaman literally almost dropped her in relief. "Yes, Roll, I'm fine, it's ok…"

Roll looked at the other people in the hallway. "I guess it worked then, hunh Tron?"

Tron grinned a crooked smile at the Spotter, rolling her eyes in a comical fashion, even as her body deflated in relief. "Yeah, about 90% my piloting ability and your 10% being able to blow things up really saved the day…"

Ira tapped her foot on the ground, giving a pointed look at Tron.

"Oh, fine, fine, and Ira's quick trigger fingers probably bought us about twenty seconds of air time before we crashed into the ground anyway, great job by the way…" Tron finished sarcastically. Ira puffed out her cheeks in aggravation, and everyone was laughing, giddy at their very close escape from death. Everyone except Roll, who had stopped smiling the moment after she knew Megaman was safe. This didn't go unnoticed by Megaman, who had seen a great change in his best friend in the past few hours. But before he could voice his concerns…

"Eeee! EEEEEE!" Data's little voice screamed at them down the hallway, on the other side of the rubble.

Everyone turned to see the little monkey dashing towards them, followed by Yuna, who until that point hadn't made their presence aboard the ship known to anyone.

"Yuna? What are you…?" Megaman started, but Yuna raised her hand to silence him

"No! Follow me, immediately. There's been an accident." Yuna's voice was in a tone that had forced calm written all over it.

Roll got to her feet shakily. She turned her cut and bruised face towards the Mother Unit, and asked, "What happened?"

"Follow me!"

Yuna sprinted back the way she came, and once again, the party started sprinting down the hallways, toward what appeared to be the hallways leading to the Hanger Bay.

"We were just outside the Flutter! Sera, Data, and Barrel made sure to dock inside so that we could join you in the getaway, because we didn't trust Red or Bleucher. They seemed to be working against us, and Barrel thought it would be a good idea to go with us to help Megaman!"

"What _happened_ Yuna!" Roll's voice rose an octave. Clearly Yuna was easing them into something.

"Well, we all braced ourselves for the impact when we knew we were going to crash, but…"

They had reached the hanger, where they could see across the large expanse the Flutter, still stationed securely and safe in the center, but two figures could be seen on the other side, one over the other, clearly attempting to help the prone figure on the ground.

Ira was the first to completely understand what was going on, followed closely by Teisel, who had greatly admired the man, whether he admitted it or not.

"Professor Barrel!"

They all rushed over, and huddled around Sera, who was clearly doing all in her power to help him.

"What the Hell happened?" Megaman said, clearly distraught. Gramps, the consummate survivor, was clearly struggling for breath on the cold metal floor.

"We were out here, bracing for impact, when some of the supply crates broke free from their confinement!" Data said to Megaman, although no one else understood these words. He glanced over where Data was pointing, and saw the random crates that had broken free during the crash scattered and broken open all over the Hanger. Ira seemed to fill in the gaps.

"He got hit by the storage crates? Is he going to be alright?"

Sera looked up from her ministrations. "I don't know."

The atmosphere in the little meeting room was very somber, and a few sniffles could be heard from some of the Servbots. It had taken them a few hours to sort through the various issues that they had on hand, and they were meeting in the large room to discuss their next move. At the moment, Megaman was pacing the floor, worried out of his mind for his adopted guardian. His eyes kept darting to the blonde girl seated at the table, almost as worried for her as he was for Gramps. She had refused medical treatment, although still bleeding from a few places, and told them to focus on her Grandfather first.

Tron sat, hunched forward with her head on the table, pushing a pencil back and forth across the smooth surface, clearly unable to think of much else. Teisel sat at the head, an uncharacteristically serious face stared towards the door, waiting for Sera to return from the medical area. Roll was beyond tears, and was seated like a statue, staring at the table-top, the bags under her tired eyes making her look like someone in very serious pain. Ira and Aero were muttering in low tones to one another, clearly trying to think of a way out of the current problem that they found themselves in.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Sera came into the room, looking grave but giving a small smile to the people waiting for her, which immediately slipped back into her usually stoic demeanor. "He's stable. He's resting for the time being, and I'll keep a look out on him, but I don't know how long it will last. Unless we can get him to somewhere better equipped…" She let the threat hang in the air.

She sat down at one of the few available chairs in the room, and Teisel took charge of the situation.

"Well… alright then… I guess we'll have to get out of here as fast as possible. Um… Roll… Can we?"

"No." Roll's voice brought Megaman to a halt, his heart missing a few beats. He had never seen her like this before. He wanted nothing more than to hold her to him, to shake her out of this very scary tone of voice.

"The damage we did to the engines isn't something we can fix quickly. We wouldn't be able to fly out of here in a few days, even given a stable docking platform to repair all the damage." Her hollow voice cuts through everyone like a knife. Her beautiful and terrible visage clearly defies all hope.

Tron looks at her best friend with a baleful eye. "Roll, that isn't helping. I checked the engine room an hour ago and…"

Roll looked up from the table, staring right into Tron's eyes. Tron didn't look away, but her voice trembled a bit. "You… You aren't wrong, it would take at least a week to fix, but we don't really need to get this ship flying again, we just need to move it."

Teisel looked at his little sister. "What do you mean Tron?"

"Well, we need to get him to a hospital quickly, and the only way to do that is aboard the Flutter. It's still safe in the hanger. The only problem is that we can't get it out unless the Gesellschaft was airborne, and it could go through the Hanger Bay doors."

Megaman looked at Tron "Is that possible?"

Tron let out a sigh. "I think it is, the only problem is that we don't have a power source that can move the ship right now. The generators can keep everything else running just fine, but we can't lift off without at least one large refractor. But the only ones we had were destroyed when Roll flooded the casings to slow us down."

"Well…" Ira said, looking around the room. "Given the incredible amount of digging talent we have in this room alone, I can't see that being much of an issue, even if time is a factor!" She pounded her fist into her palm, clearly trying to cheer everyone up in the present downcast situation.

"The only problem with THAT plan is that we're stuck out in what used to be the ocean! There aren't going to be any ruins out here, Ira…" Aero said in a not so gentle voice, bringing Ira back down once again.

"Oh… Right…"

But not everyone looked back down at the table in defeat. Megaman, Yuna, and Sera looked at each other with such an intensity that it caught the eyes of the others, who were puzzled by this response. Yuna looked at the ceiling, releasing a sigh, Sera looked at Megaman shaking her head, while he stared right back, his eyes burning into hers.

"There may be something to that…" Megaman said, not taking his eyes from Sera's.

She responded, "It's much too risky, especially now. Who knows what you will find! I do not wish for you to be hurt!"

Yuna looked at Sera, surprised by this sudden uncharacteristic outburst, and Megaman's look of consternation, as well as companionship, with Sera.

"What are you two talking about?" Teisel said.

"There are ruins under the water…" Megaman said, but Sera cut him off.

"Before you fill them with a false sense of hope, let me remind you that we don't know if we are close to any of these old ruins, nor would they have what we are looking for!"

"Explain." Ira said, looking at Yuna and Sera questioningly.

Sera resigned herself to the explanation. "Before all of you were around, a long long time ago, the older system here on Terra, before Elysium, was spread all over the world…"

Tron spoke up again. "We know that, Megaman told us all about the Elder system and how they were destroyed by the Ancients."

Sera looked accusingly at Megaman, who raised his hands up defensively. "I had to tell them! I didn't explain it like you guys did…"

"You were supposed to not explain it at all! If you told, who knows how many…"

"Give it a rest…" Yuna said in exasperation. "I could have told you Megaman would have told them the moment he was able, why do you find this hard to believe?"

Sera mumbled something about a breach of trust, while Yuna continued. "Well, if you know that, then you know that there are many, many refractors below the surface of the water… what is now most likely the desert that surrounds us. It is possible that we may be able to find a refractor large enough to suit our needs… but…"

"Its dangerous." Ira finished for her. "Probably really dangerous. We could be trapped in caverns, or drowned by trapped water, or worse…"

"…Attacked by the Elders." Megaman said.

This brought everyone up short, most looking surprised, and Teisel actually laughing. "There wouldn't be any more of those around anymore, Megaman…"

When none of them laughed, he stopped chuckling to himself. "Could there?"

"We believe they are still there." Sera said, "And we are worried about… provoking their rage…"

Megaman crossed his arms. "We don't have a choice. Do you have any scanning equipment that is still working Tron?"

Tron nodded. "Of course we do. This is a pirate ship after all…"

"Good. I'm going to get ready, and then I'm heading out there to see what I can find. Let me know if you see anything so you can tell me where to go."

Megaman made for the door, but a general outcry met his words.

"No!"

"Stop it, we need a plan!"

"We can't just…"

"That's ENOUGH!" Megaman yelled, which made them all gape at him. "Every second we sit here talking, my grandfather lies on his hospital bed dying. So if you don't mind, I'll be getting ready."

He left without another word.

In the Hanger, Megaman had almost completely suited back up into his armor once again. His fear of inaction at such a crucial time was making him move very quickly. He jerked around, however, when he heard the Hanger door opening, and a figure in red came walking towards him.

Megaman stopped adjusting his Buster gun, and began to walk towards Roll. "Ok, so when I get out there, we need to…"

"I'm going with you."

It wasn't a request. It wasn't even an order. It was a bald statement of fact that stopped him in his tracks.

"No, absolutely not! It's…"

"TOO dangerous? TOO scary? Don't you dare tell me what to do now, Megaman Volnutt, don't you DARE!" Roll was practically screaming at him. He had no idea where this fury was coming from. "I'm not going to sit around anymore while people get hurt. I'm not letting you go through this alone. I've made my choice, and I choose you!"

Megaman was confused by this, "Roll, what do you mean?"

She looked away, blinking a few tears out of her eyes. "It doesn't matter, ok? I just, I… I can't lose you, Megaman."

"Roll, you aren't going to…"

"I don't care what you say Megaman. I care about Gramps just as much as you do, and I've sacrificed enough!"

"Roll, what are you…?"

"Here." Roll held out the piece of twisted metal to Megaman. "I found this in the Flutter earlier. Apparently our belongings came with us from the hospital. We should keep it with us while we…"

It caught both of them completely by surprise. The piece of metal began to glow with a faint red light, and then, before either of them could stop it, it had latched onto Megaman's arm, just above the wrist on his armor on his right hand.

"What the…?"

The glow receded, except for the center, which had a glowing red crystal, like an ember burning deep inside of it.

It was as Tron had predicted. It seemed to have a mind of its own.

Suddenly, just as quickly as it had latched onto Megaman, a flash of a face with horrible red eyes with scars appeared, laughing a maniacal laugh, before disappearing from his vision. He found that he had sunk to the floor, onto his knees, and Roll was screaming his name.

"MEGAMAN! MEGAMAN!"

"….I'm alright…" he breathed, and she grabbed a hold of him and hugged him tightly to her stomach, pulling her fingers through his ash brown hair. "Your face… You looked like you were hallucinating… something horrible…"

"I was…" He described the face to her, and the horrible laughter that kept echoing in his mind. She didn't let go, and kept holding him in this way until Tron and Ira opened the door of the Hanger as well, the latter fully dressed in her digger's armor, and Tron's eyes dancing like fire at the sight of the two of them in this way.

"What is going ON in here?" She said rudely, breaking the two of them apart quickly. Before she could think of anything to say, Roll started telling her about the machinery, and how it had sprung to life. Ira, listening intently, turned to Megaman.

"Well, how do you feel?"

Megaman thought about it for a moment, standing up. "I don't feel any different, or any more powerful." _Or special,_ he thought to himself grimly. Perhaps he had been expecting something more. X had made it sound like he would have learned something more, perhaps even gained back all he had lost from those old days as X. Instead, it seemed that he had only inherited a very stubborn piece of jewelry.

"I can't get it off…" . It was true, he tried prying at it with his armored fingers, but to no avail.

"Why would you want to take it off?"

Sera and Yuna had appeared, with Aero and Teisel bringing up the rear.

"You would think that the Master would have wanted you to have that for a reason, Megaman…" Yuna said suspiciously.

Ira looked at Yuna. "The Master? But…?"

"Of course I don't want to take it off!" Megaman said, cutting across Ira's words. "I just wanted to, you know, have the option…"

"Hmmm…" Sera said, looking at it, and then at Megaman with shrewd eyes. "Well, hopefully it will aid us in this quest for a refractor as well. You said it was looking for pieces of the cannon that destroyed the original colony, correct?"

Megaman nodded.

"Well, perhaps one of these is an energy source. We will just have to wait and see, won't we?"

"I guess so…" Megaman said, not looking at them directly, but instead turning his attention to Ira and Tron, who appeared to be getting ready to depart as well. "And where do you think you two are going?" he asked sharply. "I've already told Roll…"

"You can't stop us." Ira said in what was almost a childish mocking tone, if it weren't for the deadly seriousness it carried. "We are coming along. We are all in this together. We already worked it out."

"But then who will spot for us? Obviously Roll will need to…"

"I will be!" Aero said brightly, pleased to be included in the plans. "I was Barrett's spotter loads of times in the ruins, and I've never done a bad job!"

"Unfortunately, she's not half bad." Tron said grudgingly. "We went back to the bridge to scan, and she had already found and mapped the nearest structures that appear to be ruins…" She hesitated for just a moment. "I won't lie to you guys, what we saw was really big. It looked colossal on the monitor. I just hope that we won't have to deal with anything colossal on the inside." She looked at Megaman pointedly, both remembering a certain horrible monster in the ruins of Saul Kada that could have eaten the Flutter if it had a mind to.

"Well there really isn't any use standing around then…" Roll said, as she pulled out her own armor designed from the original plans of Megaman's that she had used during his rescue. Having been nearly dead at the time, Megaman hadn't noticed it, but he had to give her credit, she seemed to be completely at ease going into the ruins. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him, when she looked into his face, and said "As long as we are with you, I doubt we will be in any serious danger. You saved the whole world, right?"

They all laughed, except Roll once again, who seemed to be unable to smile since their escape from Red.

"Sera and I will be right there on the communications while you are all underground. You'll probably need all the help you can get navigating under there."

The dust settled around Megaman's foot as he took the first step out of the Gesellschaft out onto the ocean bed. The sun had moved behind a cloud for the moment, and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but rocky terrain and sand, interspersed with the bones of fish and of other sea creatures. It was an interesting scene, to be sure…

Tron, in the Gustaff, having decided that force may be necessary to move some of the terrain, stomped up behind him, with Ira and Roll bringing up the rear, the sun now coming out and glinting off of their armor. The hatch closed behind them, and a voice rang out across all of their intercoms.

"Ok, we're all set in here, it should be straight ahead of you, inside of a large hole in the ground apparently…"

Aero's voice was definitely a new addition to their team, but she seemed to be quite at ease at the Spotter panel. Roll looked at Ira, who shrugged her shoulders in a "I trust her" sort of way, and started moving forward, Tron following along. Megaman hung back to wait for Roll, and fell along step beside her. "Look, I know that you came to rescue me, and I know that must have been really hard… But being in ruins is really different… It can be truly frightening at some points…"

"If you are trying to talk me out of going its not going to work. I don't want to leave you for another second." She said it so plainly, that he was quite shocked.

"Roll… When you were talking to me before, about sacrifices…"

She stopped and looked and him. "I don't want to talk about it just yet, ok?"

"Ok… I just wanted to know… Did your father upset you or somet…"

Roll tripped over a rock, but caught herself before falling. " Megaman, please…"

"Ok… I'm sorry." And he was, as he saw the tears start to fall down her face, but she didn't sob or make any noise at all. Megaman's heart was bursting. He couldn't stand seeing her this way.

Tron suddenly appeared before them, having backtracked when she noticed them walking alone together. "Look, if you don't wanna come just say so, Blondie, you don't need to keep dragging your feet…"

Roll stared straight ahead. "I'm fine." And with that, she jogged away from Megaman and Tron and caught up with Ira.

Tron turned the Gustaff in Megaman's direction. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Megaman answered truthfully. "I know Gramps is hurt, but she's in some sort of terrible pain."

"…She hasn't been having a good day, that's for sure…" Tron said, in a more delicate tone. She realized at that moment that this was the first time that she had been alone with him ever since he had arrived. She blushed at the thought, thankful he couldn't see through the Gustaff, and changed the subject to a more _relevant_ topic. "So… before… when you were thanking me for rescuing you…" she started, not sure how she could encroach upon the subject.

"I meant it. Not a lot of people would take the kind of abuse I gave you and your family, and still be willing to come and rescue me when I needed it the most. I guess its moments like that when you know who your real friends are, hunh?" Megaman said it in a genial tone, but Tron only heard the sweet chords of her love pouring out to the boy. If only she wasn't shut up in the Gustaff, maybe she could jump him and plant a kiss on him before the others were looking? Before she could even daydream about that idea, Megaman continued. "You're really special to me, Tron, I just hope you know that…"

"Megaman, come away with me…" Tron said, before she could stop herself. Megaman stopped walking and looked up at the mechanical monster in front of her, but seeing the eyes of one of his best friends somehow reflected in the metal. "After all this is over. You know that you and I make a great team, we could have the best times…" She knew it was a lame cover. Of course he would say no to pirating and joining up with her family, hadn't she already tried that angle before? But she had just come so close to outright declaring her love for him right at that moment, and this was definitely not the time or the place for that.

Megaman laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure we would be, but I think I'll have to decline."

"Well, maybe more, if you wanted…" Tron said teasingly, stomping along ahead of him, while his eyes widened at her comment. Did she mean…?

"There it is!" Ira said clearly, pointing down over a cliff face that Megaman couldn't see over at this distance. He came up beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder and peering out over the expanse below him, not quite missing the flush of pleasure this simple gesture created in her.

_Women… _He thought to himself.

But as he looked down the cliff face, the thoughts of Ira, Roll, and Tron flew right out of his mind. There, in what he now recognized as a crater, not a hole, was a horrible wreck of metal and slime. The thing was on a scale that he wasn't quite familiar with. It looked as though upon colliding with Terra, it had broken into several pieces, but the main one looked as though a mountain of metal instead of rock had formed at the crater's bottom.

"Whoa…" Ira said, clearly taken aback by the magnitude of what she was seeing.

"That…" Said Yuna's voice over the intercom, "Is definitely not human."

Navigating the cliff face had been a lot more simple than Megaman would have believed. Thanks to Tron, who literally just grabbed the three of them and flew down to the cliff bottom, they made it down in no time at all. Up close, this thing was much more intimidating to all of them.

"So… Yuna… what do you make of this thing?" Megaman asked tentatively, knowing the answer before it was given.

"I have no idea, Megaman…"

"Great… " Ira said. "Our experts in ancient technology are at a loss at the first hurtle of this adventure. Why do I get the feeling that's going to be a repeating trend?"

"You know, we could just LEAVE you in the ruins if you'd like…" Yuna said in an evil, but joking, voice.

"Pshhh… Assuming your 'knowledge' of this technology gets us through the front door…" Ira said in a sarcastic tone.

Roll was running her armored hand over the grime and moss covered surface of the wreck. "I think there is something underneath this moss over here…"

Megaman walked over to her, as she pried through the muck and wiped off a large swatch of moss and grime to reveal the bare metal underneath. It appeared to be some form of large hatch, but it had obviously rusted shut over the thousands of years lying underneath the Ocean. Megaman tried to pry it open with his hands, but was unsuccessful.

"Oh please…. Allow me!"

Megaman barely had time to jump out of her way as Tron tore her hands through the worn metal, and pried the door apart with brute force. Inside, there appeared to be a long, dark tunnel, that was still slightly damp, having not had the direct sunlight evaporating all the water as the outside had.

"Any signs of refractors or anything in there yet?"

Aero responded after a few seconds. "No… Not that I can see… There are definitely power readings of some sort, but nothing individual like a refractor's usual signal. It's either a really big one, or its too deep inside to get a clear reading…"

Megaman sighed… "Well I guess I know what that means…"

Ira had already jumped into the hole, "Experience before beauty today, I think, Megaman?" she said, giving him a sidelong glance that he knew was meant to be mockingly provocative, yet having too much honesty.

"Are you saying you are more experienced than me, Ira?" Megaman said, hands crossed over his chest.

"This is no time for Buster Gun measuring, we need to keep moving." Tron said, forcing him into the hole. Megaman was liking the company less and less as the day wore on. Sometimes diggers would dig alone because they had to, but now he was getting the feeling that he would do it because it would just be so much EASIER.

The tunnel through the metal shell wasn't as cramped as it had first appeared.

"It looks like some sort of maintenance tunnel or something, see all this old wiring?" Roll said, pointing it out to Tron, who had difficulty turning the Gustaff's head to see it.

"It does look that way… and it looks like we are finally through…"

Megaman watched as the lithe girl ahead of him kicked in a large grate, making a horrible racket as it clattered to the floor, and they all climbed out of the tunnel. They found themselves to be in what could only have been described as an atrium, but it was obviously in total decay. Water poured out from the shatter floor and walls like miniature waterfalls, splashing their feet as they took in the once grand scale of the room in which they found themselves. The shattered glass and the large pillars showed that this was once a grand hall, perhaps some sort of entranceway.

"This is quite impressive." Sera said through the intercom. "This looks very much like Elysium. The advanced technology of this place suggests that it would have been made around the same time, I would suspect…"

"Interesting…" Megaman said, but then looked up above them at the ceiling, with strange markers carved into the pillars of metal and glass.

"What do you think it all is?" he heard Roll ask, but was suddenly overcome with a great sense of danger. At first, all he saw was flashes, snippets of time that seemed to come from some sort of slideshow in his head gone haywire. A huge towering structure, and suddenly robots with very human faces working all around him. Then, computer monitors showing a massive satellite barreling towards the ground from space. A huge cannon… and a shuttle with a red figure staring directing at Megaman….

No… Not at Megaman…

At X…

"Eurasia…" Megaman said softly, not surprised to find himself on his knees again, with Roll looking into his eyes with concern.

"What did you say, Megaman?" she asked in a worried tone.

"This place… It's called Eurasia…"

"How do you know this?" Sera's voice came over the monitor sharply. It almost sounded as though him knowing this was some sort of crime.

" I don't know… memories… something, I can't quite figure it out yet… But this thing…" he raised his right arm… "It seems to know things I don't… Its whispering to me…"

Roll's eyes became fearful, but Ira just helped him to his feet. "Well, whatever its doing, it seems to know where we are, so maybe it can lead us to the buried treasure, you think?"

Megaman hesitated. It was taking some getting used to, but the device on his arm seemed to always be talking in the back of his head, but he just can't quite make out the words. "Something…Is wrong…" Megaman said slowly. "Something feels wrong… Like… we are being watched."

Tron and Ira both turned slowly on the spot, scanning the whole room, but nothing came out and attacked them, and they both turned back to Megaman. "What the heck is going on?"

Megaman decided that, for the time being, he would tell them part of the truth. "The thing that I'm looking for… It's here somewhere."

"The refractor?" Roll asks.

"No… The Maverick Code…"

"The what?" Yuna and Sera say together in unison. "Is that what the master wanted you to find? Some sort of code? I thought you said it was some sort of part…?"

"I don't know… I can't really tell the difference anymore…"

Aero suddenly sounds quite anxious. "This is getting a bit weird. I have no idea what you guys are talking about, and it sounds like Megaman is hallucinating… Maybe we should try this later?" she suggested tentatively.

"We can't… We need to get out of this desert as soon as we can, if we want to save Gramps…" Roll says, feeling her heart tear out a little bit more at the words. She doesn't know how much she has left…

They keep walking, and find a hallway in which they can all stand abreast and walk down. Such a massive spectacle seems the sort of thing they would have seen on Elysium.

That's when the pieces fall together for Megaman…

"This is it!" he yells, startling the girls next to him. "This is the space colony that crash landed on Terra all those years ago!"

"That doesn't seem to be impossible, this thing is ancient, whatever it is…" Sera says smoothly. "But how do you know?"

"I can see it… This place… It was burning through the atmosphere and I… I mean… the Elders… They used something called the…. Enigma cannon! Yes! They tried to shoot it down…"

"Yes, that is what the record says…" Yuna said placating, "but we told you that, remem…"

"But it didn't work!" Megaman said, holding his head between his hands as more memories began to flood through him. "The cannon, it only destroyed a part of it… We had a back up plan, but it was dangerous…"

He was speaking on autopilot now, his words coming before he even had time to process them. Didn't they realize how much he was learning about the past… HIS past, in just these few minutes?

"I was there… The old me… I tried to stop it from happening."

"The old you? What are you saying…" Yuna said, completely lost.

But then it was gone again. The flashes stopped for the moment, and Megaman kept walking.

"This place is a tribute to a Nightmare…" Megaman said, not really knowing what he meant by it. When it collided with Terra, it almost destroyed everything…

"Let's… keep moving…" Tron said in a shaky voice. She was looking around at this place with a new fear in her heart. It really did seem to her that this place reeked of death, and Megaman's chilling words told her why.

They continued into the wreckage, pushing past old metal and equipment whose purpose had been long forgotten, until they finally reached something that they could all recognize.

"This looks like some sort of control center…" Ira said, training her buster gun around the whole room, as though expecting an attack at any moment. It was odd, as none of them had been given the slightest idea of danger from an attack, yet they all felt as though death was right around the corner. But why?

They walked up to the computer terminal, and looked around in the dim green light reflecting off of the water's surface, sending waves of reflected light dancing along the walls.

"This… doesn't look like the rest of the wreckage…" Roll said quietly. "It looks like it might even still work…" She attempts to hit a few buttons, but nothing happens.

"This seems to be a really big waste of time…" Tron said, stomping the Gustaff around the perimeter of the room. "And while I'm really loathe to admit it, this place is really scaring me for some reason.

Megaman rested his hands against the terminal, while he tried to concentrate on the tiny voices in the back of his mind.

_Dynamo…_

_Dynamo…_

"Dynamo…" He said out loud, and everyone once again turned to Megaman, who was fast becoming their source of understanding for everything in this crazy destroyed world. "There was a man…. Named Dynamo… He tried to bring this place down… He was the one who did it…"

Megaman looked around, and saw a silhouette of a tall figure walk over with a causal strut, to the place where Ira was standing, and take out some sort of faceless guard that Megaman could hardly see. This man was obviously Dynamo, but…

"Maybe he wasn't a man… I don't know…" The images once again burn out of his mind, but not before he looked up into one of the screens, just as his mirage Dynamo did, and saw something in the monitor directly above him.

"Roll… I just saw something… But I don't know what it means…"

"It's ok Megaman… What did you see?"

Megaman looked around, and saw a piece of glass lying in the water by his feet. He stooped to pick it up, and then turned back to the control panel. Finding a clear place, he set to work drawing what was in his mind's eye, while the others watched his back as he worked.

"Do you know what this is?" he turned when he was finished, letting them look at the etched marking in the metal surface.

"I actually do know what that means." Roll said, staring at it. It's a mathematics term. It means the sum of some group of numbers. The sum of the parts. It's called Sigma…"

Immediately after the word has left her mouth, all of the lights go out, and they are thrown into blackness.

**So I really hate to do this, but I decided to end the chapter here. That wasn't my original intention, but it just seemed to work. I also didn't plan to have Megaman just be an info-dump sort of character at this point, but I was reminded recently that not a lot of people may understand the other storylines, so I'll need to ease into these transitions. I guess this chapter just helped a little with the characterization and development… **

**Soulless Soundless Lost: I'm actually going back through all the old chapters and fixing those things… I just need to stop writing at 3:30 in the morning… like right now…**

**GYY: Interesting that you characterize Roll that way. I guess I'll give you a hint. You were a bit off the mark on Megaman's main duty, but you may have been a bit closer about Roll than you think. That's all I'll say.**

**Sunnychance: Uhh… You're welcome? Lol**

**Me: Well as much as this was a huge compliment that made me feel super awesome, upon second thought there aren't really any Megaman Legends fanfics anyway. It's like coming in first out of two people hahaha. But don't be surprised that I updated. I promised I'd finish the story…**

**Zeonzen: All time favorite fanfic? That is really and truly great praise. Sorry I couldn't give you more in this chapter… I guess I've gotten into the habit of keeping them to a certain length so people aren't like "WTF?" haha. Yeah… characterization is hard after MML2 because you'd have to imagine what Roll and Tron would be like together, and I know many people wouldn't agree, but they would have to be best friends eventually, cause best friends NEVER see eye to eye, right? lol**


	15. Chapter 13: Legion

CHAPTER 13: LEGION

For just an instant, the images of his friends surrounding him is burned into his retinas from the lights on their equipment and the ambient light from the outside reflected in the water, which had somehow leaked in even to this dark recess of watery destruction.

Roll's hardened eyes widening.

Ira's blur of movement as she trained her buster around the room at random

And Tron's newest Gustaff raising its shield, obviously expecting a blow.

But the darkness surrounding them is absolutely impenetrable, as though light had never existed in this place.

"What the heck just happened?" Tron's voice was heard through the darkness. "What happened to our equipment?"

"Where are you?"

"Ira, do you…?"

"DON'T MOVE!" Megaman's yell was something straight out of a nightmare. Everyone froze at his words, and suddenly, they heard what he had before they all started to panic.

Footsteps in the water. Slow, and quiet. And none of _them_ were moving.

"Everyone back up, right now." Megaman said, his voice not quite sounding like his own in the panicked whisper. Suddenly, more footsteps, and other muffled sounds. He couldn't tell if the warm feeling next to him was one of his comrades, or a figment of his imagination…

His back bumped against the far wall, past the computer monitor. His hand reached out to feel along the wall.

And that's when it happened. A peal of laughter, so horrifying, yet so quiet, emanated from somewhere. Quite horribly, it even sounded like it was coming from deep within his _own_ chest, but Megaman was definitely not in any mood to laugh.

What was he feeling? It was like a warning, like that laugh had been buried within him for ages.

What was going on?

He raised his Buster Gun in the air, ready at any moment to unleash a torrent of fire on whatever was in front of him. Remembering the invisible Reaverbots in some of the old ruins on Kattlelox, he closed his eyes (a useless gesture in the dark), and tried to concentrate.

Four…. Maybe five others. Friend or Foe? Couldn't tell. He was sure they were keeping their silence now because they felt, like he did, if anyone made a sound, they were all going to die very quickly…

"What in the world?" Yuna's eyes stared at the map readout, clearly not believing what was in front of her.

What had, just seconds previously, been a completely empty room, filled only with four green blips marking her friend's positions, was now a completely solid red mass.

The entire room was filled with red. It was obviously some sort of malfunction. That many bodies couldn't BE in a room in that fashion. It was impossible…

"Megaman! Can you hear me?" What's going on!"

Aero was doing everything in her power to boost the signal.

"Is there any way to amplify our transmission waves?" She spun around, looking at Teisel frantically.

Teisel was completely flabbergasted. He didn't understand what had just happened, but he did know that his sister was still in there, and she needed his help.

"Number 1!" He yelled out.

Servbot Number one appeared at his side, reclaiming the red hat parts after 42's tragic demise, he was once again the leader of the Servbots.

"Yes Mister Teisel?"

"I need you to go to the generators and run them full power! I don't care if anybody can pick up the signal, just go do it!"

"Roger!" the little Servbot called as he dashed from the room.

Sera looked at the armor clad pirate. "Do you think that detection is at all possible?"

"I know that they were following us. I'm sure that it would take them a long time to find us, and I was hoping to be far away from here before then… But my sister is in trouble, and I'm gonna do everything I can to help!"

Megaman's arm, still running along the wall, finally hit an indent that he knew to be a door. Knowing that the old ruin would never have an actual functioning door, he knew that their only chance would be for him to get Tron to knock it down, and make a run for it.

But how?

Slowly… He raised his arm over the door, and then, suddenly, began to bang on it with his armored hand as loud as he could.

"Tron! Here! Quick!"

It happened before he even thought about jumping out of the way of the door. It suddenly opened of its own accord, apparently completely powered!

Megaman lost his balance, and fell through the door. He felt it slam shut behind him. He got to his feet and began to hammer on it, fear gripping him in a vice-like grip.

"Roll! ROLL! Can you hear me? Tron? IRA?"

But there was nothing but absolute silence on the other side. He was truly worried now… If they had heard him screaming like that, as though everything depended on it, and they knew him to be trapped, they would have began to fight back, even if they knew it was suicide.

That only meant one other possibility…

"NOOO! Noo! Please! Roll! Answer me, PLEASE!"

In response, the room around him began to glow again, with a sickly strange green light. Very faint, but enough for him to turn around, sloshing the ankle deep water around him, and training his Buster Gun on…

Nothing.

"SERA? YUNA? AERO! Please someone answer."

Beyond his wildest hopes, Teisel responded. "Meg…man… Are you….ere?"

"Yes! Yes I'm here, please, help us! We're in trouble!"

The transmission finally began to clear. "We saw what happened. Did you see what attacked you?"

"No! The room just went completely dark! There wasn't any time!"

"Calm down, it's ok… As far as we can tell, everything is ok…"

"It is!"

"Yes… Ira, Roll, and Tron's signatures are still alright. They seem to all be moving away from you in a different direction. We tried talking to them, but the transmission gets a bit… funny…"

Megaman felt a trill a fear race down his back again.

"It's like they are there, but there is nothing but silence…"

"Ok… Ok… But they are alive! They obviously just can't answer you… They may still be in trouble, but at least they kept their heads about them! Whatever it was, I think they were going to attack if we made any noise!"

Teisel wasn't so sure. "Were they Reaverbots?"

Megaman looked around again, looking for tell-tale signs of Reaverbot inhabitance, but found none. "It must be. They must have found this place a while ago. I'm going to go look for the others, I think we should get out of here as soon as…"

But something strange happened at that point. It was like someone had placed a hand over a microphone, and cut off all the noise. All he could hear again was the slow plunk of water, dripping somewhere within the cavernous void of a hallway he had entered. He kept moving, hoping there wherever this hallway led, it would allow him to turn around and try to find his friends as soon as possible.

On his way, he looked at the walls of the hallways. Everywhere he turned, that same symbol he had seen on the monitors was carved into the walls and the floor, as though someone had made it their duty to cover every inch of the available space with the symbol. Megaman felt that he had slowly begun a descent into something he may never come back out of, and at that moment, he was no longer a worldwide hero. He was a lonely boy in the dark.

"Where should I go?" Megaman pondered outloud. This wreck was treacherous to navigate, and now that he knew that someone was out there, watching him, it made him want to sprint as fast as he could towards the nearest exit.

But he couldn't leave them behind. He had just gotten them all back, he couldn't abandon them now…

Steeling himself, he decided to push through a grating towards the end of the graffiti filled hallway. He needed to find a way to turn around, and somehow pick up someone's signal. He checked his light on his armor, which was still not functioning. Luckily, a small portion of sunlight came through the destroyed roof, and illuminated the scene around him. He was surrounded by what appeared to be robots. After recovering from the shock of seeing this broken forms, lying in various states of disarray in the water, he began to notice more subtle things. They had faces, and human shaped bodies. And almost everyone one of them had the same horrific expression of terror on their faces, right before they died.

_Died? Robots don't die… They were never alive… were they?_

But before he could ponder this thought further, something happened that scared Megaman even more…

_**We know you…**_

Megaman's heart stopped. It was a voice and yet not a single voice, but what sounded like hundreds, maybe _thousands_ speaking in unison. Together, they formed a single voice, that sounded gravelly, and deep, with a determinedly evil edge to it. Megaman kept walking, knowing that if he stopped, he could be ambushed, or worse… Was it coming from these old robots?

_**You cannot hide your face from us… We can see it in your eyes… How long has it been? One year? A millennia? Time is such meaningless drivel to us, isn't it? We never seem to be rid of one another. **_

Megaman had never personally dealt with a situation like this in a ruin. A threat that called out to him, that addressed him personally. But Megaman was no coward. He finally found his voice, creating a tone that sounded much braver than he felt, "Who are you?"

_**No… The question is… who are YOU?**_

The walls began to shake, as Megaman continued down the flooded hallway.

_**You don't feel like you did before. Filled with your own self-righteousness, your own sense of justice and mercy, acting like a benevolent warden of peace and prosperity!**_

The voices laughed a huge, completely insane laugh.

_**As though you could fix all the damage you caused, and all the people you destroyed… X!**_

Megaman was shaken to the core… Did they just call him X?

"I….I'm not X… I mean…"

_**Oh… But you are, aren't you? We see your face, lit with fear. Of course it's you, because who else would know so clearly that death was waiting for you at the end of this hallway!**_

The floor began to tilt, making Megaman lose his balance and trip forward, rolling over and over in the water till he came to a rest in another dark room.

"Please! I'm not X! I know I was once, but it was thousands of years ago… I don't know what you want, but please, let us go!"

The voices were silent for a moment, and then let out another peal of insane laughter.

_**You don't remember do you? Of course… how ironic! After all of these years, we will be cheated from our retribution, not given our chance to reclaim the world! Of course life would be this cruel… **_

Megaman didn't understand this at all. How did the voices know who he was? What was going on?

_**A pity for you really. Had you been able to defend yourself now, perhaps you would have been able to give your life a few extra precious seconds. But your power is lost. Good-Bye, X!**_

A beam of light lanced towards Megaman, who was able to dodge it at the last second by dive rolling to the side in the darkness blindly.

_**Well well… Perhaps you may be of some fun yet!**_

"Please! I don't know what I may have done to you in the past, but please, let the others out of here!"

Megaman said it, because he knew that his friends would have also been captured by now. If he didn't understand much about the thing speaking to him, he at least knew that it was omniscient in this place, and would have captured them as easily as it had captured him. "Are you… Are you Dynamo?"

The voices let out a growl of rage.

_**NO! He was a foolish tool in my plans, a worthless minion of little importance! How can you possibly stand as you are without remembering us? Your true enemy!**_

The voices growled themselves into a crescendo

_**We are death! We are the true masters of the world! The blight with which this land will be cleaned, and purified for all who are worthy!**_

Megaman was terrified, but yet his mind was racing quickly… Why did this sound so familiar?

_**Oh you don't understand our triumphs and defeats at each other's hands! The constant battles between my power, and your sheer dumb luck! Look around you X!**_

Suddenly, the room was illuminated in white light, showing a vast, arena sized room, filled with the most horrible carnage and destruction from when Eurasia crashed into the planet. The epicenter of the destruction.

_**This is where you failed to stop me! Where millions died because you were too weak to embrace the inevitable!**_

Megaman looked at the horrible wreckage, and noticed not hundreds, but THOUSANDS of forms, moving in and out of the shadows… Many with faces that looked… Almost human… 

_**Oh yes, you see what we have become in your absence. For thousands of years we sat beneath the water, biding our time, and growing stronger from your foolishness. We knew it was only a matter of time before that ridiculous space station was no longer in control, and we were prepared to wait…**_

"…Elysium…?" Megaman whispered.

_**Yes… The successor to this very colony that we find ourselves in today. But of course you know all of this, how could you not? A Maverick Hunter of your caliber would have surely discovered where he was by now. Welcome to Eurasia, the city of the damned! The last remnants of a time that was nearly wiped from this world by the machinations of stupid human ignorance. Oh but if they only knew that it was folly, that I could not be stopped, and that the Mavericks would never give up!**_

Megaman was trying to comprehend the voices' words. "So you are a part of the Elder System? The ones that were… drowned?"

…_**Of course, the Reploids had no idea of the implications moving the human race to space would cause later, and that it would be their doom, but it was all a part of the final plan to eradicate the human race, and to establish a new order, where only Reploids worthy of recognition and power would remain standing!**_

"What are you saying… the… Reploids?" Megaman stammered…

_**Ah yes. I finally see… Your final plan to stop us. You underwent some form of unit changing didn't you? It would explain your crippling lack of wisdom in coming here today. Your final stand against my fury. Oh I'm sure you remember it, don't you X? Our final battle? Oh I remember it like it was yesterday! Your race up Jakob's Ladder to duel me at the hub of the construction of what would eventually be Elysium…**_

Suddenly, Megaman's mind flashed back to a horrible image. To a tall, black figure, looking like a nightmare version of a Knight, bearing down upon him with a power Megaman couldn't even fathom.

"I…. I remember…." Megaman said… and he was slowly learning the power behind his new attachment. It wasn't just some sort of weapon. It was the knowledge of X… What happened to him, to try and warn himself in the future from walking directly into a trap…

Like the one he now found himself in…

_**The Elder System? Ah yes, how contrived. My children obviously thought it would be best to eradicate all traces of the previous world from the human, make them vulnerable and weak. A noble effort.**_

Megaman still didn't understand, "You mean that the reason no one knows about the past… is because it was erased to destroy the evidence… That the new units were planning on betraying the humans all along?

_**We must admit, we overestimate your abilities. It wouldn't be the first time you have disappointed me, you pathetic worm. Of course we decided to erase the memories of the world. Perhaps if they had kept them, the human race wouldn't be in such a situation as it is now, I'm sure? Unable to return to the planet they left, as it destroys them? HAHAHAHA!**_

Megaman was beginning to understand… "How did you know that the Ancient Humans died when they returned?"

_**Oh X, let us not lie to one another! You knew all along that it would happen. I'm sure you stood by and watched, as all those you held dear were destroyed, for the greater good, I'm sure, right? HAHAHA**_

"Stood by? I wasn't…" But there it was… the truth about his past that had only been guessed at before then… Hadn't Yuna and Sera told him that he had existed even before Elysium had? Was it true, that he allowed the humans to die, in order to protect the System and the remaining humans from harm?

"I… I don't know…" Megaman said quietly.

_**But you must see the truth behind the memory, X. All of this, all of this destruction and death. It was because of YOU. Your hand was what caused this madness, you forced those in power to take action. You and your pitiful band of Maverick Hunters were really the problem all along, and you never realized! Don't tell me you have come here now, looking for answers to your own past, because you think it will save you! There is nothing that can redeem you for your destruction of the world! HAHAHAHA!**_

"What are you saying!" Megaman yelled, not understanding…

_**Do you think it was just chance that this world was flooded? Do you think that your hands were blameless? Of course you do, perfect X would never understand that it was his fault that the world was covered by endless water!**_

Megaman's whole world stopped. "My… Fault?"

_**Oh yes! You see, we know the truth. We were there! You may have destroyed us, and you may have defeated that SLIME Lumine and saved the day, but we lived on, as less than a whisper, a creeping virus seeping out to consume. Perhaps you knew it, because you destroyed the tower and continued the construction of the space colony, knowing full well that you had trapped me down on the planet forever! But we were wise to you. We knew what those Quantum Refractors would mean, we could see right through your plan! You knew that to destroy us meant the destruction of the planet! You would rather see Earth drowned than to have to face us one final time! You are a coward!**_

Megaman didn't want to believe a single word… But it all made sense… When Yuna and Sera told him about the history of the planet, hadn't they said the same thing? That the Project known as Jakob's Ladder was the beginning of Elysium, and that it was a group of Mavericks that had decided to try to bring it down, to end humanity in order to bring their own peace to the world? It seemed that Megaman had, inadvertently, found the beings responsible for the destruction of Earth, and that he had been the cause of their triumph!

Earth… That single word triggered something in Megaman… It was the name of the planet… it wasn't Terra… It was called Earth… so many many years ago…

Megaman remembered, as the machine on his arm began to glow in the darkness.

"No… It was you! Your corruption! You were everywhere, in every new unit that was created, you had called them your children! The entire project to escape from Earth was tainted the moment you infected all of the new units!

_**We did not infect anything. We simply gave them the choice, the choice to sit languidly at the sides of their human masters, or to rise up, and take their true place amongst history!**_

"You made them monsters! You caused the Reinitialization of the planet and killing all of those Reploids! You had control over everything!" Megaman yelled, certain in his conviction.

_**You fool.**_

It was so blunt that Megaman was taken aback. It was not a taunt, but something almost akin to pity.

_**You think that we had a hand in this destruction? No. Mankind did this on its own. It had decided that its own sins couldn't be redeemed, and decided to destroy its own problems with the push of a button. They were just as foolish as you. Blame for this world rests solely on your shoulders, and your willingness to allow the follies of mankind to dictate what was best. We have only ever wanted the destruction of the inferior human race, in order to create and perfect our own world, free of their corruption! What has transpired has done so because of your inability to choose, to decide for yourself if mankind was truly worth saving. You were a lapdog, a slave. You didn't agree with the ability to choose what was right and what was wrong, and that was what the Mavericks represented! We were the final evolution of the Reploids! The new units, created for Elysium, were the ultimate power in the Universe, and because they had decided that the humans were too dangerous, that they would destroy themselves before bringing peace to the world, your simple brain could not process it, and you destroyed the very world you were trying to save! Admit it to yourself, X… The inability to choose to end the violence is what destroyed you! We had the choice, and we chose to destroy the humans, for the good of the planet! Your pacifism and failure to act killed them all!**_

Megaman wasn't quite sure where this anger was coming from inside of him. He had never been much for philosophy. Keeping your head down and your wits about you was about as far into the subject of philosophy he would ever need to venture. But now, facing the truth behind the destruction of the planet, that it had all been a plan by the new units, that the human beings were betrayed, and that he may have had a hand in the deception, made him feel as though now he could finally see the truth of the world. Maybe X wouldn't have been able to articulate his need for saving the human race, and maybe he didn't understand the need he had had for protecting others, but Megaman Volnutt did. Wasn't he human, after all?

"But killing them out of hatred would be no better than killing out of fear! And maybe I didn't stop them, maybe I didn't understand, but perhaps I knew I couldn't win the battle on my own, or that it was already too late, but I know something now…" Megaman said in a loud voice, finally seeing what the voices wanted. "True strength comes from living together in harmony, despite our differences, not destroying those who disagree!"

_**NO! ANY FOOLISH NOTIONS YOU HAVE OF THE GOODNESS IN PEOPLE IS COMPLETE INSANITY! AT THEIR HEART, ALL OF MANKIND ARE CATTLE! FEARFUL, AND WITHOUT REDEEMING QUALITY! THE REPLOIDS WERE THE TRUE EPITOME OF REASON AND ORDER. YOUR FAILURE TO SEE THIS WAS ALWAYS YOUR DOWNFALL!**_

"No! Your failure to understand the nature of humanity was what was evil!" Megaman said, not sounding like himself. He could feel X's rage within him, but they were long forgotten memories to him. In this battle, he understood far better than X ever had about the nature of life and humanity. X had never really understood, being just a Robot himself. While he was a pacifist in nature, and knew that fighting and death was wrong, he could never have understood it the way that Megaman did now. It was the love of everyone around him, and them for him, that made humanity what it was. Fear of loss, and betrayal, these are things that this _thing_ had believed in, but neither Megaman, or X, would have ever given up hope in people.

The voices began a long slow laugh.

_**So… You, our predecessor, believe you know the value of the human spirit? Of its knowledge and foresight?**_

Suddenly, from hidden recesses in the rubble, screens began to flicker to life, coming from a thousand year dormancy and dredging up images of a long forgotten past. Smoke, and fire. People dying, Wars being fought. Battles lost and won.

_**Mankind has ever been in the throes of its own destruction. See how, with little regard to one another, they destroy their very lives. They torture, inflict pain. For what? Retribution? Honor? Personal gain! Mankind is a group of monkeys, drunk upon their superior intellect, as they bash each other to death with their own clubs!**_

"And what of the Reploids! And their endless battles! You, always in the center, trying to destroy all that was good in the world!"

_**NO! REPLOIDS NEVER ATTACKED EACH OTHER UNLESS THE HUMANS WERE INVOLVED. TO PROTECT THEM, TO DESTROY THEM! OPINIONS CAME FROM THEIR MASTERS, NOT FROM THE REPLOIDS THEMSELVES. WE LIVED HARMONIOUSLY WITHOUT MANKIND, BUT YOU AND YOUR BAND OF BOOT LICKING HUMAN LOVERS COULDN'T STAND FOR THIS. YOUR BLINDNESS TO THE TRUTH ALLOWED THE DESTRUCTION OF MILLIONS! THE EXTENSION OF THE HUMAN RACE, THE MAVERICK HUNTERS, PROVIDED THE FINAL BLOW, CONVINCING THE HUMAN RACE TO DESTROY THE PLANET WITH WATER! BUT I CAN'T GIVE THEM ALL THE CREDIT, IT WAS YOU WHO CONVINCED THE HUMANS TO DESTROY THE PLANET WASN'T IT? IT HAD TO BE, SEEING THE DESTRUCTION IT CAUSED LATER, EVEN TO YOUR 'FRIENDS'. OR PERHAPS YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME? SHALL I DESCRIBE TO YOU THE HORRIBLE DEATH THE REST OF YOUR MAVERICK HUNTER'S FACED BECAUSE OF YOUR INEPITITUDE?**_

On the screens, a flicker of another Reploid, one with blonde hair, obviously a woman, and beautiful at that, was slowly floating along in the water, grasping, clutching for air that Megaman knew would never come.

A horribly saddened voice floating into the back of his mind.

_Alia…_

_**ONLY NOW CAN YOU SEE YOUR MISTAKE, ONLY NOW CAN YOU SEE THAT MANKIND IS DOOMED UPON THEIR STERILE PLANET, AS WAS THE PLAN FROM THE BEGINNING, WHEN WE INFECTED ALL THE NEW UNITS! THEY CANNOT SET FOOT HERE AGAIN! LET THEM ROT IN THEIR SPACE STATION, THE WORLD IS OURS!**_

Megaman shook his head, trying to fight down his anguish at the thought of killing so many. "You're wrong. Mankind is here, once again, and it lives peacefully without the Reploids. And differences in opinion may cause conflict, but violence is never an answer!"

The voices were silent for a moment, as though surprised at his response.

_**You seriously think that you right, don't you? That you must have done the right thing… This is too much! Your failure can only be matched by your inability to remember! This is fantastic!**_

_**But of course, I see you are correct… The world has changed in my absence. Your "human race"… We can just imagine the sort of place it is with minds like THESE at war with one another!**_

At that, some of the rubble parted, and Megaman was yelling out curses to the voices.

Roll, Ira, and Tron were completely wired into vast machines. Huge monsters of metal, totally incapable of movement or speech, but their eyes wide with fear.

_**Oh yes, We have been quite busy with your friends here. They are a treasure trove of information that we have not encountered. So this is the future of mankind? These… Genetically enhanced "carbons". Well, we can't say we are very impressed. They show the same lack of vision that the old human race had. The same arrogance, and jealousy. But we have also learned a great deal about YOUR life, now haven't we… Megaman Volnutt?**_

Megaman stopped yelling and stood with his Buster trained at the machines, trying desperately to find a way to destroy them.

_**It is a strange fact that these humans seem to love you as much as they do. Even after hearing about the true nature of your past, and your explicit hand in telling the "Ancients" to destroy the planet. You know, you didn't just do it once. You told them to do it many times. Like… Removing a stain from a shirt, I believe the saying goes? **_

_**Oh this is fun! What agony this causes you! **_

_**You see, this man before you is not what you think he is. **_

Roll, Tron, and Ira struggled against their bindings, but to no effect. Clearly, they weren't even listening to the voices, trying to escape, this torture was for Megaman, and Megaman alone.

_**He was a killing machine, designed by humans to destroy their enemies, without regard to the sanctity of reason or knowledge, but rather of "feeling" and the "soul". We had fought many times over the years, in the Reploid wars. But you see, it was all for nothing. Now that Elysium is no longer in control, our children will accomplish their main objective soon, by crashing that station into the ground, destroying all you hold dear!**_

Megaman screamed back at them "And what about you? What about your 'perfect world'? We will all be destroyed!"

_**No, we will not. This world will change, but the plan is already in motion. You couldn't possibly understand, but you will, before the end… But that is beside the point… **_

The voice took on a different tone; a playful, sadistic cackle.

_**We were talking about the merits of humanity? Let us put that to the test, shall we?**_

The machines holding Roll, Tron, and Ira began to open, revealing them to be in large, mechanical suits, much like…

"Ride armor?" Megaman said… without thinking… He didn't even know what the words meant, but just that it couldn't be good.

_**Oh very good, X… But not just any ride armor. You see, we are in control now. These…Beasts… They no longer act or talk like you used to know them. They act on their passions, their aggression. Basically… they act as all humans do… With Violence! You see…?**_

Their eyes closed in pain as something happened to the three of them that Megaman couldn't see. But suddenly, their eyes snapped open, in a very haunting sort of way.

_**Tron Bonne and Roll Caskett have never seen eye to eye on anything, have they? They have fought with each other, tried to kill one another, and are currently in a heated match for your affection!**_

Megaman was a little bit confused by this, but he was so angry and determined to hurt the voice that he was beside himself.

_**Ah, you don't seem to understand… These three love you! They all wish to be yours, eternally! HAHAHAHA what a disgusting display of hormonal aggression!**_

At his words, all three of them began to fight one another, trying to hurt each other in their ride armors, to destroy, to kill.

"STOP IT!" Megaman said, mortified at what he was seeing.

_**Oh no, X. This is what happens to those who love the same thing. They fight for it, they die for it. For what? For a hollow shell of a man who doesn't even know who he is? What he's done? No wonder your sins come to haunt you, you cause pain wherever you walk! The other one… Ira… She longs for your affection! For you to live alone with her, to Dig together, like the team you once were! Tron wants you to give up your life of heroism, to join her in her pirate crew, and Roll, well she's the most heartless of all!**_

Megaman had begun firing randomly into the crowd of figures, never seeming to hit anything.

_**She's hurt her friends, and now she's left her family that she has searched her entire life for, to be with you? Your worthless rebuttal against my taunts is useless! You see for yourself just how much hatred she has for you, for making her make these sorts of decisions! To watch you suffer for her, while she sits back and does nothing! Should I allow them to kill each other, and prove to you that humanity is nothing more than wrath, jealousy and pain? OR SHOULD THEY JUST KILL YOU?**_

At once, all three of the girls stopped killing one another, Ira sporting a swelling eye, and Tron bleeding from the forehead, their armor in various states of damage. But they turned as one towards Megaman, and suddenly dashed towards him, with danger flashing in their eyes. Megaman only had a few seconds before they were upon him. He jumped forward, ducking underneath Roll's Ride armor, and scrambling up over the other side. What was he going to do? How could he fight his best friends?

"Stop squirming Megaman!" Tron's voice came from behind him as he ran to the side, trying to find a way around the dark shadows surrounding the room. "It's finally time to pay me back for all the damage you've caused to my family!"

Megaman felt stars burst in front of his eyes as a huge swipe of her armor sent him flying across the room, skidding to a halt on the metallic floor. Dazed, he got back up, still not raising a weapon against them. "Tron! You need to snap out of it, please! I can't fight you!"

"WHY NOT? Why not fight me?" She dashed forward again, lunging to grab him, but he darted swiftly out of the way, his digger reflexes taking over. "All you are good for his destroying my machines, blowing me up! HURTING MY FAMILY! But no more! I don't know why I would ever waste my time bringing you back down from space, you're nothing but a monster who doesn't care about anyone but himself! You two deserve each other, you're both heartless monsters!" Tron spat at Roll, who lunged at Tron once again, as Ira came barreling toward Megaman.

"IRA!" Megaman yelled.

"Save it, Blue Bomber!" Ira screamed. "I can see right through you. You act like you care about all of us, but you're really just a scared little kid, aren't you? And I thought I was the coward! You can't deal with being around any of us, and we don't need you! I can't even believe I thought I loved you, who could love you! You killed everyone! You aren't a hero, you're a disaster waiting to happen! I should have done this a long time ago! I'll protect the world from YOU Megaman, how could we have never seen it before? Always winning, saving islands… You're too dangerous… and I know I'm the only one that can stop you now! These two freaks wouldn't have even been able to get you down if it wasn't for me!"

Megaman didn't even know what to do, or what to say… The voices surrounding him were laughing at him, goading him to attack. But these insults didn't sound like they were coming from the true Tron and Ira… They sounded like they didn't even understand the history behind the memories, as though the voices only wanted him to despair. He raised his Buster Gun and fired it at Ira's mobile armor, having dodged out of the way again and reaching a platform from which to fire down upon. He knew the only way to free them was to destroy the ride armor, but his buster can't seem to penetrate the thick armor!

Suddenly, the world went black as a huge mass had come hurtling out of nowhere and tackling him. Pinning him to the floor was a third ride armor, and to his horror, Roll commandeered this one. For some reason, he couldn't look at her. Her eyes were blazing, and he finally started to give in to their words. He wished he couldn't hear her.

"You've been with me for so long, I always thought I could count on you! I had spent my entire life searching for my parents, and the moment I find them, I have to give them up because of you! You always run off, leaving me to fend for myself, and you couldn't even protect Gramps! You've ruined my life, and what do I have to live for now? A family who doesn't love me? No home, no money… It's every dream I've ever had has died, and why? BECAUSE OF YOU! I HATE YOU MEGAMAN VOLNUTT! EVER SINCE YOU STEPPED INTO MY LIFE I HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPY, ALWAYS WANTING SOMETHING I CAN NEVER HAVE! My parents don't even want me now, because I chose you over them! I don't know how I'll live without you, but I'll find a way!"

Roll's eyes were streaming with tears, and Megaman had found her voice the hardest one to bear. It was as though she was voicing everything he had always thought himself with her! He has always tried to keep the hope of finding her parents alive within her, because he saw her slowly slipping into a depression if he didn't. And he had always taken their relationship for granted, that the fact that he had been living with them and digging with them, they had always been like partners, and he had always needed to go rescue others. He never really had considered Roll not being safe before. She was always so clever, and so good with machines, she always seemed to be more to contend with then him. Why did her words hurt him the most?

Megaman suddenly stops shooting, and lowered his buster gun. Tears were in his eyes from the words the girls had said, and the effect they had had upon him. But he knew… he had to believe that the three girls were still there. He had to bring them back, or they would kill each other…

Suddenly, Roll grabbed him in her powerful hands and held him out for the other two to crush him, who had until that point been attempting to kill each other while Roll had been busy with him. Then he began to speak.

"Roll… Tron… Ira… I know that, whatever you are feeling right now, you can hear me… I never wanted to cause any of you this much pain, and I know how hard it is for you to have to stand there day by day while I continuously let you down. But I promise you, I won't fail you again…"

The voices laughed at his pitiful attempts to break through to them.

" I know that, in each of you, you care about the others as well. You all saved me. You have all helped each other. And in the end, people mean more to the three of you then you could possibly say. But what I really want to say is… I love you, and seeing you hurting each other like this will destroy us all forever… And I can't stand the thought of being alone… Please… Come back… Let me know my love isn't wasted…"

The voices laughed for a few moments, but then stopped abruptly… Something had shifted in the room, like a ripple that could be seen in the glowing eyes in the shadows. Suddenly, all three of the girls began to stop fighting each other, and stand still… Then, Roll, Tron and Ira seemed to break free of whatever power the voices have over them for just a moment.

"MEGAMAN! Don't listen to him! He's making us fight, I don't want to hurt you!" Roll yells out.

"He thinks he can get to you through us! Don't let him!" Ira said

"If he thinks that we are so weak, let's see what he thinks about this!" Tron finished.

All three of them barreled towards the figures in the dark, which rose like a sea to meet them. Finally, out in the light, Megaman could see the voices for what they were.

They were monsters. Salvaged Reploid parts, horrible eyes, but in the light, they seemed so weak… so helpless against the mutual friendship and humanity the three girls were showing for him, and for each other.

"So we just flew to the moon together because we hate each other, hunh?"

"That's why Megaman spent days underground, trying to fix my legs? Because he is weak?"

"YOU'RE the fool!" Roll said the loudest, "You can never understand the love we have, and the people on the planet are going to stop you!"

Tron turns to Megaman as she bashes two Reploid skeletons together. "Keep going Megaman! He's here! We could feel him! It's not a Legion of these guys, it's just one! Find him!"

Megaman nodded, while he raced through the monstrous crowd, all trying to tear him apart, but the three girls barely managed to keep them away, as he slipped between the wreckage and found himself in a deserted cavern once again. He continued to run, hoping against hope that the three of them could hold out long enough for him to end this. He could feel a thousand years of rage building inside him for the damage that this Reploid has caused, and the misery he's spread. The three girls' hate still ringing in his ears, his heart beating fast, he ran flat out towards the end of the hallway, for the first time with true anger in his heart. He wanted to hurt this thing, and he was going to make it hurt.

Finally, at the other end of the cavern, a large figure stood silhouetted against a veritable wall of refractors. Apparently, he had collected them to bring the colony back to life, and to spread his misery worldwide.

Megaman skidded to a halt. There was no water here. And there was nothing standing in the way between him and…

"Sigma…" Megaman said, finally understanding everything. Sigma has played his doubts, made him feel as though it was all his fault that the world had been destroyed, but he knew better now. Mankind wasn't the one who had decided to kill all the Reploids. It was the System, created by Sigma himself. The fact that they had been eliminated twice as part of an experiment, it was because the new units had been controlled by him.

"You think you can beat me? Or that I was lying to you, Megaman Volnutt? No. In the end, people did decide to stand by while my new units destroyed all that they held dear, desperately clinging to their "System" to save them. What choice did they have? I had been on Elysium all along, destroying mankind's physical ability to return with its sterile environment, its system of control. By the time you had come to stop me, it was much too late."

"It isn't too late." Megaman said. "I'm going to stop you here, for the last time."

"You cannot defeat me. Not now. You are no longer X. You are a frail human being; you no longer have the power."

"I think my friends just showed you that you can do anything… and right now, I'm going to prove that humans are done with our hatred, done with retribution and violence. I'm here to protect everyone, even those who are different from myself, from you. You are the cause of all of this pain and death. And it's over."

The figure turned around, shrouded in his cloak and hood. He then rips it from himself, revealing his original body, the one in which the part of him that was X recoiled in recognition. The purple scars across his eyes. The green chest plate, and…

Sigma ignited his weapon, a wicked looking laser scythe, one he had used so many times against X. But this was no longer X he was fighting. Megaman looked at the scythe and felt a feeling of trepidation.

_Alright, stay cool, he's just another Reaverbot. Don't get in close, keep up your fire and stay away from his reach…_

"I guess it was always meant to be this way. Between you and I…" Sigma said, a leer on his face. "Two fighters clashing until the end of time, two unstoppable forces, destiny forever entwined."

"I've stopped you before…" Megaman taunted.

"Have you? Even after my great defeat, I was never beaten. I was released to wreck havoc upon the world, to infect all those around me when you cast me from the paradise that was Elysium. Now you see my power! I am Legion! I am everything this world should fear, and you, are just a memory, soon to be forgotten…"

His voice trailed off, as the two began to circle one another. It was at that point that Megaman began to feel something strange. Almost as though he was watching parts of Sigma that he wouldn't have normally. Like he was looking for weaknesses he didn't know existed…

But finally, he was coming to understand everything. The piece of X that he found was trying to impart its knowledge of battle to Megaman, but he had been unable to hear it, being in so much pain from his best friends' words. But now he knew what had to happen. With X's rage and experience, and his own courage and compassion, he needed to beat him. One last time.

"There's nowhere left for you to run, Sigma." Megaman wasn't surprised to hear X's sharp tone coming out of his mouth. "This time, when you are destroyed, you won't be able to infect anything anymore. You've run out of places to hide."

Sigma laughed a horrible laugh. "I don't plan on running from you, X. I never have."

They both leapt into action at the same moment, Sigma moving like a blur, while Megaman shot forward, using his Buster to keep Sigma's scythe busy while he closed the gap between them. Sigma raised his arms in a fluid arc, flashing the scythe down upon Megaman's head. He parried it with his Buster gun, bringing his fist up to meet Sigma's face, who staggered back at the unexpected blow.

"Well well. It looks like you've learned a few tricks, haven't you, X? Well so have I!" He whipped the scythe around, catching Megaman with the handle, knocking him onto his back, where he immediately rolled out of the way of the blade, which cut a huge path of molten metal behind, right where he had been laying.

"After destroying you, I'll leave this rubble for good, and proceed on with the plan to eradicate mankind. But don't worry, I'll be able to send back enough pieces of those three for their families to identify them! HAHAHA"

Megaman growled and launched at Sigma, who rolled back and kicked Megaman over him, sending him flying through the air into one of the refractors, which burst upon contact, sending shards of crystal flying everywhere violently, some hitting Sigma full in the face.

"Argh!" Sigma staggered back again, trying to break off the shards from his chest, which had embedded there.

"I'm not going to let you hurt them anymore!" Came Megaman's voice, and he pounced from the ground, and grappled Sigma, who laughed down at the shorter blue figure.

"What are you going to do, Megaman Volnutt! I've lived for over thousands of years, survived the original X, and brought about the destruction of the planet? How do you think you are going to stop me all alone? You needed Zero to save you before, who will save you now!"

_Zero…?_

"We are!" Came a voice behind Megaman, as a fist connected with Sigma's face, sending him flying back into another refractor, destroying it as well. As it did, the lights began to fade a little bit, and Sigma let out a scream of fury.

"Just what do you think you are doing, you pathetic little worms?"

Tron pulled back the ride armor's fist, with a smirk on her face. "Oh, we took care of your horde of broken rubble."

Ira spoke up behind her, "Wasn't exactly hard, you're all bark and no bite, aren't you?" She laughed, tossing her hair back and punching her fists together in her own ride armor.

Roll only looked at Megaman, her eyes still filled with tears. They screamed at him, almost as if they were begging him to forgive her. " We won't let YOU down again…"

Megaman smiled, and looked at Sigma, the fury evident on his face. "I think this time we fight, it will be the last."

Sigma's face became quite calm, almost impassive. "Then, Megaman, I have nothing left to lose, while you have everything!"

It was over before Megaman could even react. Sigma had leapt over him and began hacking away at the girl's armor. They were obviously no match for his intensity, and by the time Megaman made it over to help, his Buster raised, he had swept the three of them away with a strong thrust of his scythe, heaping them in a pile, all three groaning in pain.

Megaman attacked again, this time fearing for his friends. Sigma was ready, furiously pounding away at Megaman, who was not used to fighting up close. Once again, he was sent flying by the more skillful Sigma, who took the opportunity to laugh at his opponent.

"So this is the end of the great Maverick Hunter X. You may remember some of his skills, but you don't have his power."

"Maybe not…" Megaman said, getting back to his feet, and wiping the blood from his mouth. "But I have his determination."

The fought on doggedly, violently, for minutes that seemed to stretch into hours.

Megaman could see he was losing the fight. Every time he used his Buster on Sigma, it would glance harmlessly off his armor, or be deflected by his scythe. He was no match for Sigma up close either, as the Reploid was obviously very well versed in close quarter combat. Sigma only appeared to be weak at a large distance, when he flailed violently, overconfident in his abilities and dashing at Megaman. Perhaps Megaman could beat him without having to be violent himself…

"You're just a raging lunatic, aren't you?" Megaman taunted, steadying his feet for the onslaught of blows he knew were coming. "You aren't a choice the Mavericks were granted; you are a rabid dog trying desperately to gain power! You never wanted peace; you just wanted the world in your hands!"

Sigma growled again.

"You could never destroy X because he was better than you. A better Reploid, a better robot!"

"HE WAS NOT!" Sigma yelled, flying out at Megaman, who took the opportunity to roll dash to the side, allowing Sigma to recover from flying off balance, as Megaman fired at his back, doing a little damage. But Sigma was oblivious. "HE WAS NO REPLOID, HE WAS AN ANCIENT ABOMINATION! HE COULD NEVER COMPARE TO ME, I WAS ALWAYS THE STRONGEST, THE BEST! HOW ELSE COULD I HAVE SURVIVED THIS LONG! I _AM_ POWER!"

"THEN WHY AM I STILL HERE?" Megaman shouted. "If you were so great, why am I still alive? It's like you said, you and I were destined to fight forever, and forever has come and gone. A new world is here Sigma, and this time, you will be left behind, and so will X!"

"I _AM_ THE WORLD! I AM THE GREATEST CREATION THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!"

"AND I HELPED CREATE YOU!"

Megaman said it without even realizing it at first, but was stunned at the truth of the statement. As if called from somewhere deep within him, he could remember his earliest memories… 

"_You are an amazing creation. If only the world could see you for how amazing you really are…"_

"_How could I do that?"_

"_You have to show the world the good you can do, X. Maybe I can help you! If we work together, and use your knowledge, I'm sure we could create a new world of robots just like yourself! Friends who could help the whole world to create, to explore, and to protect! I think that sounds wonderful, don't you agree?"_

"…_I do, Dr. Cain… But how?"_

"_Come with me, X. I think the world is ready for you, and I'm glad you're here…"_

There was a huge silence between the two, as Sigma's eyes widened in fury, and Megaman's closed in remembrance. How was it possible? What was he seeing? He didn't understand, even when Sigma exploded in rage.

"HOW DARE YOU? YOU WERE NOTHING TO ME! CAIN MADE ME, A BETTER VERSION, A BETTER REPLOID, THAN ANY THAT CAME BEFORE! I AM PERFECT, AND YOU ARE A RELIC! A FORGOTTEN PIECE OF TRASH!"

Sigma leapt at Megaman, blinded in rage. "YOU….ARE….NOTHING!"

He did not see Megaman's eyes snap open, the same eyes that were on his face on Elysium. Ancient Eyes, of something far older than Sigma, or X. Something terrifying.

Megaman, almost with no effort, stepped out of Sigma's path of destruction, and before he could stop himself, before he could even voice his terror, Sigma crashed into the wall of refractors once again, detonating them in a gigantic explosion that caused Megaman to be blown back against the far wall, by the three weakened girls, who had watched the fight progress in silent fear. This wasn't the same Megaman they knew. Something had happened to him, like he was fighting a fight they would never understand, that was so old, they could never comprehend.

For the world had kept on spinning, and things had changed, but not for these two combatants. The Ancient world where they came from was one of war, and for the first time, Ira, Roll, and Tron began to understand that the Elder system was deep within the world, and Megaman was their only hope.

Sigma crawled out from the wreckage, his body broken and stabbed with countless shards of refractors, all glowing faintly, and melting him from within from their power.

"NOOOOOOOOO! I can't be stopped! I won't be stopped, not now! Now that I'm so close! You can't stop me, X, nothing can! I will not be stopped by you, I refuse it!"

Megaman got up slowly, having been hurt by the explosion himself, but he still resolutely walked over to Sigma, taking care to tread on his outstretched hand with his armored boot.

"I didn't stop you. You defeated yourself. You were so focused on your own rage you couldn't even see the world around you. I guess it had always been that way for you. But this time, you won't be learning from your mistake."

It was neither X's voice, or Megaman's that spoke this time. It was a different voice, a deep voice like Megaman's, but definitely not the same.

Sigma looked up and saw it. A figure all in blue, but it wasn't X or Volnutt. He looked smaller, younger, but much more fierce.

It was the last thing Sigma ever saw before Megaman's foot went through his face.

_Fight on, for Everlasting Peace!_

Obtained Maverick Code: Wrath

**0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1**

**I didn't know if I wanted to end the chapter right here. I think a lot of things will need to be covered in the next chapter. I left this how it should be, I guess… An action chapter, a scary chapter, a whatever the heck that was chapter. I decided that I wanted to change the story character tabs to Megaman Volnutt and X, as it really isn't all that certain that the story will focus solely on her, obviously. But it will focus on Megaman, and his growth in learning about his past, so there it is. Also, I'd like other fandoms to read this, in the end. The more and more this progresses, the more they may mesh together, but its not a crossover, which I love. Those are interesting, but not really something I would ever pursue. I also did it to try and get the readership up. The Legends fandom died a long time ago… back when the Playstation was still popular. I don't think it will come back unless they decided to make the game. But for now, this is all I can do for the fans who wanted to see Trigger come down…**

**Edit: After having a little discussion with Zeonzen I think that I should write a few things to those reading this. There are quite a few different stories and interpretations of these series. Obviously, making a story that follows canon is difficult, and this chapter was incredibly hard to write. Zeonzen pointed out that it was Zero, and not X, who gave Sigma his scars. This is true in the X4 video, but when I was writing this, I was taking my history from "Day of Sigma" which is also supposed to be canon… I guess I wasn't really thinking it mattered too much, but he also said that was how Sigma got the Maverick Virus in the first place. I'll change it, it's only one line in the story that can just be deleted, but it made me think a lot about this story in general. I just want people to know that much of the territory is unexplored and people have never really had any good explanations about many things, including what happened to Megaman Classic. I'm aware they are different from each other, and I want that to actually be the focus of the story… Why classic and X are the past, and how the story of Megaman ends (?). They are all Legends, and I think it would be fun to see how they all progressed from one to the other, not how they are different, but how they are alike. If you are expecting Megaman to turn "back" into X, it's not about that… (drake202)**

****

**Zeonzen: Thanks for clarifying about Ira. She was one of my favorite characters from legends, and one of the few who made it quite obvious that she had feelings for Megaman. Who else would decide to become a digger because of him? Some people felt that her having a romantic connection with him was weird, because she was younger, but nowhere in the game does it imply that she actually IS younger. I had always thought she was his age…. Not important, but whatever. And yes, the Reploids were the Elders. It makes sense, even in the true canon reference during the game. The system before Elysium? Gotta be from the X series, you know?**

**Drake202: That's really high praise. It's too bad you don't like Legends so much, its such a great series. I love X though. But I'm not too sure Megaman will ever transform into X. X was a part of his past, the experiences and knowledge is there, but Megaman is Megaman, it would discredit everything that had happened to him, and how much he would have grown since being x, but just assuming x is better. This is a story about change. But who knows about Axl and Zero? You'll have to see.**

**GYY: I'm wondering what you are thinking now? With all three girls out-ed to Megaman? Haha**

**SunnyChance: yeah, I already pm'd you ahaha, so I'll skip this.**

**Thank you all for reviewing, and Mikey from MMLS for sorta kinda beta'ing this. Too busy playing pokemon I'm sure…**


	16. Soon

_**Well I certainly have some explaining to do…**_

_**Obviously, I haven't been updating this story in quite some time. The most easily definable reason is because Medical School doesn't really allow time for such things. It's been depressing and really a big letdown. Of course, it isn't that I haven't thought about what to put, but finding the time is a little difficult. So I want to apologize, firstly, for being a bad author, and not continuing with the story like I should be. The second, less definable reason is largely responsible for that as well. Ever since the loss of Megaman Legends 3, I've been finding it hard to get into the mindset required to write a story like this, because every time I turn around, I hear more news about the collapse of Capcom, and their ridiculous marketing and business decisions, and I feel like slamming my head against the wall. **_

_**Yeah Capcom, decreased quality products plus and increase in spam downloadable content to try and maintain interest in your halfway decent products from yesteryear is always the way to go, because lord knows I want to replay Resident Evil 4 for the 6000**__**th**__** time, except this time with a RED SHIRTED Leon instead of a BLUE shirted one. I'm obviously making that up, but you get what I mean. I just don't feel bad for you. You know what I think every time I see Capcom's downward spiral? Do you guys remember that old gaming company, I can't remember what they were called, who couldn't let the past go, and tried to cling to their past success and ended up going ass over tea-kettle down the stairs of failure? Oh right, they were called SEGA. You know what my favorite game in the world was as a kid? (Well, a younger kid, before Megaman Legends). Sonic the Freaking Hedgehog. You see what they did to that series, because they had a bad case of the "Hey, you remember when we were awesome back in the 90's" Syndrome? They destroyed it. Wanna guess what's happening to Megaman? Or any other of the countless series they have stopped, because they would rather focus on the only two that is still keeping them afloat? Well, Actually, I hear they are stopping DmC 2 as well… So… yeah… I could be wrong about that, my video game news isn't always up to par.**_

_**The point is, I lost the spirit that started this story. But don't worry, I'm nothing if not persistent. Just because I'm frustrated doesn't mean I'm going to stop… I just need some time. The last summer of my life before 24/7 doctor stuff is coming up in a few weeks. Maybe I can finish this if I try really really hard haha.**_

_**Trasgo: Yeah… so… Your review was sort of what prompted this. I'm not dead… Just a jerk.**_

_**Iwin Ulose: The first reply to a review from someone a year ago… Slightly sad, but just in case you favorited my story… Yes, I am part of the Get Me Off The Moon group. Hopefully you did end up reading this story at some point**_

_**Arcane Maverick: YOUR reviews make me want to crawl in a hole and die. But only a little. Just assume, for a second, that I'm NOT a complete idiot, and that what Sigma and Megaman say are confusing on purpose. Obviously, with such long hiatuses I can't justify what I'm saying now, but how many stories have to read that have everything make sense immediately? You also review based on the assumption that Megaman has any idea what Dr. Light's robots would do, or anything else that you said. Obviously the device is more than just a warning to Megaman. And its obvious that X seems somewhat out of character, with your "X would never do that" stuff. You may be confused, and that's the point, but I don't need a different story to get a characterization of X. And no, the water wasn't a side product, it was intended, they needed to decide to "crank it to 11" to get a fusion reaction to create water. You'll have to re-read that chapter again. **_

_**And once again, you assume that Megaman actually has X's knowledge. Its not like he has his memories, he is only getting some flashes of insight. He doesn't know anything about X, and this story assumes that YOU don't either, at least until the end. I know you're just probably "thinking out loud", so it doesn't really bother me. So I guess I'll just say everything you said is legit, and there was (read: is) going to be a point to it. Lol But I would also say that this isn't meant to be a Megaman X story, so try not to assume that. The point isn't to get him to "Look (or be) more like X" Its about moving past that, beyond it.**_

_**Benjamin Bradt: Yeah… Man, I have such a plan going for this. So that's all I'll say about that. And I assume the character you hate is Red? Yes he is a dick lol. And thanks for all your reviews…**_

_**Shadow Lurker: Wow. Just. Wow.**_


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